Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember
by Fher34
Summary: 3 years after war, and things have yet to settle. For Hinata, life has just begun. Lacking memory and speech, she learns to live again. For Sasuke, well...he just didn't expect to find a Hyuuga woman invading his training grounds. SasuHina PostWar. One sided NaruHina on the blond's part. Chapter 6: Again.
1. Chapter 1: Porcelain Doll

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_

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Chapter 1:

Porcelain Doll

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"Unwept tears on pale, white eyes,

A doll's heart that beats,

A crimson mouth that softly smiles.

.

Drops of salt down porcelain cheeks,

A pained heart that stops,

An ironic twist of bright red lips.

.

Silence is her daily silken dress and sadness her everlasting companion;

Thorns adorn the rose that makes her bleed,

The coppery fragrance lost in the autumn wind.

.

The words she can no longer speak...

Memories she doesn't dream...

Loved ones time forgot...

.

A life that was taken away,

And another toy that stops the cold rain,

A doll's hearts that beats again."

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The dark corridor narrowed down to the last of the cells of the high-security dungeon in the ANBU Department of Konoha.

Black shinobi sandals slapped against the cold cement-base floor, echoing directly to the dweller of the guarded room.

Heavy-lidded obsidian eyes turned to the sealed door, features sporting not the slightest of interest.

Green powerful Fuinjutsu runes glowed and the sound of the locks pulling back with a protesting hiss of air made Uchiha Sasuke turn back to stare at the bland ceiling he'd been watching for over two years and eleven months.

The cracks were memorized, the uneven values of white and gray labeled, and the measurements taken.

There was nothing new for him to find, and yet...he never failed to look at it time and time again, as if expecting something new.

There never was.

He did not feel disappointed, though.

As a matter of fact, he felt nothing and that was okay.

Lacking emotions wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. It was a stupid rumor. Numbness was something he would prefer over hatred any day. It was better not to know grief, or suppress remorse. Tasting guilt and impotence was the worse, a sickening tart that lasted for stretched periods of infinite time.

He would know.

"Oi, teme!" came the ever cheerful voice of Uzumaki Naruto, his always on time visitor.

Hm. So it was noon already...

"Dobe."

The blond-haired shinobi flopped down on the floor beside the one and only occupied bed in the locked security cell and placed his hands behind his head wearing a grin so big Sasuke wondered why it hadn't split his face in half already. "Aww, don't give me that! Aren't you happy you're getting released tomorrow?"

Sasuke said nothing, as usual, and thus began the one-sided daily conversation.

"It's the end of September now, and still the damn heat won't go away in the Fire Country. Though," blue eyes narrowed comically and he shivered. "The mornings are cooold."

Sasuke didn't comment that his room – cell – never ceased to be cold.

"I'm getting my own Genin team tomorrow, too!" he informed and his smile, if possible, widened. "Kiba and TenTen are also going to be senseis this year. I just hope I don't get any undisciplined brats." He frowned thoughtfully only to brighten up like he always did. "Shikamru thought it was a hassle when he first started, but he still trained his own Team. Right now, I think he has them warming up for the Chunnin Exams. Eh, that Shikamru thinks of everything. I mean, the Exams are still months away!"

And so on.

And so forth.

The dobe really didn't know when, or _how_, to shut up, but in a way, Sasuke welcomed his annoying ruckus every time he showed up. It was better than Kakashi's perverted jokes or Sakura's mournful and awkward silences.

Yeah, Naruto was good company.

Sometimes.

Though Sasuke had pride and dignity. The day he voiced his gratefulness aloud would be the day he died.

Meaning – in a single word –, _never_.

"Tomorrow is going to be a good day," Naruto sighed happily and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

Sasuke sometimes thought that Naruto lied too much.

He seemed content, but he wasn't. There was a light frown between his eyebrows, his cerulean eyes were wore down with exhaustion, and his natural tan looked sickly beneath a layer of pale skin, provided by the lack of going out in the sun, though it was the end of summer.

"Naruto."

The blond snapped his head to the side to look at him instantly (it wasn't often that the teme used his first name), and there it was – pain, regret, sorrow before he could hide them behind his usual wall. All the emotions Sasuke wished not to know but lived with nonetheless.

The raven-haired ex-criminal didn't bother to hold the other man's gaze for long. Instead, he turned back to the unchanging ceiling and sighed to himself.

"Stop it. Stop acting like you're okay."

A fake smile. "What are you – "

"She's dead."

A sharp intake of breath.

"She's gone."

A heartbeat slowing down and clear eyes that lost their gleam, turning dull and flat.

"Wherever she is, she's not coming back," Sasuke finished.

He was blunt, but he faced reality as it came. He was no longer the young boy that ran freely through the Uchiha's compound. Not the little kid who wanted to surpass his older brother and gain his father's respect.

He was a man. He was twenty now. He knew when it was necessary to stop pretending.

"You are wrong," Naruto whispered lowly, his voice thick.

Black eyes glanced at darkened cobalt.

"No," Sasuke pronounced. "I am not."

"She's strong; there's no way she won't come back to m – to everyone," he hastily corrected his slip, but Sasuke knew what he meant.

_There's no way she won't come back to me._

"It's been years, Naruto. _Years_," he made sure to put an emphasis in the word.

"She will come back," his best friend, after all these years, counterattacked, an aura of strong determination encasing him. "She never gives up; it's part of our nindo."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something else but decided not to retort in the end. Naruto was stubborn, very, very stubborn, and the girl was a delicate matter to discuss with him.

It was best to leave the issue alone.

"Baa-chan said she reacted two days ago, when I was out on mission," Naruto confided quietly, sensing his friend's skepticism, his mouth tightened, his eyes downcast. "She'll be okay...one day."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in reply and shook his head. It really was no use to fight the idiot.

Before the blond could support his claims, the door opened and both males were surprised to see Nara Shikamaru standing at the door, his body shaking, his usually disinterested dark eyes wide open.

"Na-Naruto –"

By the time he caught his breath, the two men in the room were on their feet.

"Shikamaru, what's wrong?" Naruto quickly inquired for both of them.

"Hinata," was all he said, as if his breathless state and shaking form could be explained by uttering a single name.

To the ones present, it did.

Naruto went still, his eyes similar to the Nara's, his face pasty white.

"W-what?" he managed to choke out.

"She's awake," Shikamaru smiled and Naruto stayed still as a statue, his eyes reflecting everything he wanted to do but was too hit by the impression to accomplish.

Sasuke, the less affected by the news, pushed him to the door. When met with a questioning blue stare, he repeated the action, this time more roughly. "Go."

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped.

Sasuke made a face of extended disgust. "Don't look at me like that and leave, you moron," he snarled and shoved him again.

Momentarily out of his shock, the blond smiled and this time, it wasn't forced. "Thank you, teme."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. This was getting sappy way too fast, and he wasn't appreciating it. "Get the hell out."

That was all the encouragement Naruto needed. "Thanks!"

"Stupid dobe," the brunet murmured to himself when the Nara and the Uzumaki were gone, his door once again sealed closed.

With nothing else to do but throw himself in bed, Sasuke lifted the covers and made himself comfortable.

Hmph.

"Hyuuga Hinata," he tasted her name on his lips, liking the way the silent H's rolled smoothly on his tongue.

He smirked, closing his eyes.

What a strange girl. He could have sworn she would never survive, not after what happened to her.

But she was awake.

What a girl...

She was the young woman who was in love with the dobe.

The heiress of the prestigious and ancient Hyuuga clan.

The brunette with the peculiar indigo colored hair, the cousin of the deceased prodigy, Hyuuga Neji.

The kunoichi who risked everything just to save the life of the person she admired.

Hyuuga Hinata, the girl whom had spent the last two years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days in coma.

**.. .*. ..**

When the blond shinobi saw her next, the way she reacted was the last thing he expected.

She was sitting on the bed, on the one her father had bought specially for her stay in the Konoha hospital, staring blankly at her small hands, inspecting long fingernails that had grown yet again. They always kept on growing, no matter how many times Ino, Tenten or Sakura clipped them.

Due to the nutrients and vitamins she was receiving through artificial feeding, Ino had explained to him one day.

It had been years since he'd seen her awake. Since the war.

That era felt so far away.

His chest tightened at the sight she made and his heart skipped several beats without his permission.

Her long hair was casually thrown to the side, long tendrils of indigo curling at the tips and slightly mussed. Her eyes were drowsy and lazy with fatigue despite her long slumber, but they still shone like crystals flickering light, the lavender orbs marking her as a true Hyuuga darkened by the shadow casted on her by the closed curtains, contrasting in the other light at the other half of the room.

Her bangs were parted in the middle and noticeably longer than before, reaching down to her chin, exposing her forehead, something he had never seen before. They cupped her white-porcelain face, the same face that wielded high cheekbones and a button nose. Her ruby lips were like bloody rose petals against her paleness and her unbelievable long, black lashes brushed against her slightly flushed cheeks as she blinked and looked back at Kiba, who sat on the chair next to her bed, telling her some of his adventures with Akamaru and Shino. Stories and tales she had been oblivious to while lost in her own little world.

Naruto heard Kiba chide her mockingly for ignoring him and the girl flushed even more at getting caught.

That was Hinata, always blushing, forever shy.

Once the Inuzuka had her attention, she listened intently to every word that came out of his mouth, but her elegant brows were knitted in incomprehension, her nose wrinkled cutely as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

She was breathtaking.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

Ino and Kiba were right, hell, the _entire_ ninja world was on target; he was the biggest _idiot_.

The blond didn't think. He simply acted, as it was often his mistake. His unthoughtful actions had placed the petite, sweet girl who had loved him for the longest time sincerely on that bed, in coma, for years. It had been his fault, all of it.

He didn't care at this moment, though. The murderous guilt vanished and only she mattered. She was all he could see.

So caught up was he in what his eyes showed him that he forgot where he was and what had caused him to find this strange creature in a hospital attached to machines and fighting for her life until a few moments ago or however long she'd been awake.

He moved, and then she was in his arms, her gasp of surprise swallowed as the heart monitor bleeped loudly in protest.

He hugged her small frame close to his chest, feeling the softness of her body and the heat that strongly clung to her figure. The smell that was uniquely hers was addicting and he tucked her into his embrace, fearing that if he didn't touch her, didn't held her near him, he would choke in the alien and overwhelming emotion taking over him and then drown, – or worse, that she'd disappear and vanish like vapor in the sky and he'd never see her again.

"Hinata..." he whispered in despair and could do no more but hug her tight, his head lowered to the crook of her neck. His parted lips released an unstable breath that kissed the skin he suddenly wanted to trace with his mouth.

That's when he felt it, the feeble attempt of tiny hands trying to push their owner from his arms. The monitor attached to her started to go wild and the girl began to fight for air.

Naruto let go of her when the insane beep pierced the room like cannon-fire and Hinata was pale for lack of oxygen.

Had he hugged her that tight...?

"Hinata!" both boys in the room cried, Naruto in panic and Kiba in concern.

Kiba, who could've been one of the walls surrounding the room for all Naruto cared, got up from his seat so quickly the plastic chair crashed sharply to the floor.

The room's door banged open and Ino and another nurse appeared, pushing the boy's away from Hinata when she saw they were surrounding the brunette.

"Wait out in the hall!" Ino commanded, her hands already glowing green, her eyes hard and narrowed in concentration as the other nurse tried to placate the Hyuuga.

"But –" Naruto began but Ino's voice carried an iciness that left him rooted to the spot.

Kiba grabbed the blond by the arm and dragged him out, making sure to close the door after them.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded once they were in the hall.

Naruto blinked at the sudden accusation and he scowled. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Kiba's lips lifted into a snarl and he glowered at the blond in front of him before punching the wall beside him with his fist.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"You wouldn't understand, Naruto," Kiba growled, his forehead touching the abused wall.

At hearing his name without an insult, Naruto settled down and asked seriously, "Kiba, why did Hinata push me away?"

Kiba eyed him from the corner of his eye, mouth in a flat line of expressionless. He closed them after a second, and a muscle on his jaw jumped. "She doesn't know you...She doesn't know anyone."

Naruto wasn't sure if he was hearing right. "What are you –" His face filled with puzzlement. "What are you talking about!" he finally cried.

Kiba's fist colliding with his cheek was his answer.

"You idiot! It was _you_! It was your fault! She _loved_ you, she loved someone like _you_! And she paid for it," he snarled, trying to land a kick on the blond but Shikamaru and TenTen were already there, holding him back.

"It'd be better if you leave," Shino commented as he helped Naruto to his feet from the floor, where he had ended up after being knocked down.

Naruto said nothing, the blood running from his mouth forgotten as he stared numbly at the struggling brunet being dragged down the hall by a stern Shikamaru and a pained TenTen.

He was right.

Kiba was right.

It was his fault.

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**A/N: I've been wanting to make a one-sided NaruHina since forever. XD It's payback time, blondie.**

Yes. I will make my dear Naruto-kun suffer for a while. Yes, I sometimes think he doesn't deserve Hinata's love. Yes, you are free to flame me if you like but remember I didn't force you to read :(.

Review!

-SasuHina interaction in the next chapter. *Squeal! :D Oh yeah, babe!

-_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_ is such a silly title. Do you guys have a better one?

-Rated T for a bit of lime in later chapters.

P.S: This story will be a very short one. I think 10 or 8 chapters? But I will make Sasuke's and Hinata's relationship realistic. It's just that I can't get this plot out of my head! So I apologize in advance to the readers of _Nightmares_. Chapter 9: Winter was published on Feb. 10. That story will be uploaded in two weeks (hopefully)! As for this one, if I get good feedback soon, then this weekend (since it's short).

-Published: 02.12.14.


	2. Chapter 2: Who Am I?

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 2:

Who Am I?

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Sasuke didn't expect him to come back so soon. Or rather, he hadn't expected the assigned ANBU watching over him to let him through a second time.

A person, after all, could only visit him once a day.

When he saw his expression, however, he understood.

Naruto was...a mess.

He instantly knew something was wrong, and exactly who it involved.

He sat up and nonchalantly brushed his overgrown bangs away from his eyes. He wished he could trim them a bit, but he wasn't allowed to go near a simple kunai and there was no way in hell he was going to allow anyone close to his hair willingly.

Tch. He didn't need a weapon to kill a person, and had he wanted to leave, he would have done so already. He didn't say that aloud, of course, lest they chained him again, and he didn't like being kept in a leach, thank you very much.

The door closed but the blond shinobi didn't speak.

His bright locks were disheveled, as if he had passed his hands over it thousands of times in a short span of time. His blue eyes were still exhausted, but Sasuke noticed, they were also bloodshot, lifeless.

Sasuke chose not to speak, not wanting to break the silence that had settled before Naruto's entrance, and patiently waited for the whiskered Jinchuuriki to spit out what was on his mind.

By the looks of it, it was serious and to say that Sasuke was surprised would be a very badly constructed lie.

The last time the dobe had looked that...that _haunted_ had been half a year ago, when Hyuuga Hiashi doubted getting his heiress back and almost decided on disconnecting the life-support system keeping the Hyuuga in a stable condition.

Sasuke had never seen the blond so agitated until that day.

Naruto's knees gave under him and he slid from the door to the floor, candling his head in his hands.

"She fears me."

It was said softly, distantly low, and in complete disbelief, as if the dobe himself couldn't begin to grasp what he was saying.

The Uchiha frowned. She what?

Didn't that girl love him? Why would she –

"She fears me, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted his thoughts and the brunet had to fight down the urge of slapping that glazed look off the blond's face. He didn't remember seeing him so lost until now and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

Damn that over-sentimental idiot.

He was like a freaking little kid going home after pre-K only to find his entire toy collection destroyed into pieces.

"You should have seen her face," the blond continued in that same voice that was beginning to drive Sasuke nuts because it made him feel so helpless. "It was as if she had seen Death itself. I thought I had hugged her too tightly, but no...She doesn't know who I am, she doesn't know me anymore. I'm like a stranger to her."

Sasuke remained quiet, letting Naruto get it out there and he cursed inwardly. Hell, he wasn't good at this crap.

"It was fear. She was so scared," he punched the floor with his fist, a crack quickly resounding in the small closed space.

Sasuke didn't even flinch.

And not for the first time in his life, the Uchiha watched his friend weep.

**.. .*. ..**

They said her name was Hyuuga Hinata.

The girl with the funny, chocolate-colored hair on top of her head with equally nut tinted eyes claimed she was a ninja, a kunoichi, an important member of something called the Hyuuga Clan.

The boy with bright marks on his face and pointy teeth said she was his baby sister, his best friend along with something – someone – called Shino and Akamaru. He said they were teammates, and that he was going to protect her.

She didn't know what he meant by that. Protect her? What did...what did that word mean? She wasn't entirely sure.

Her vocabulary had vanished along with everything else, but it was coming back at her again, if at a slowed pace. Her mind was a sparkling white canvas with no drawings, no base, no colors to speak of.

Oh, she understood half of what she heard...but not everything. Some words were lost, with no meaning.

Just like everyone else.

Who was that boy? Who was the girl with the funny but pretty hair and the big eyes beside him?

Not knowing was making her wet behind the eyes. It was a peculiar feeling, that of her eyes dripping with liquid. She had tasted it on her lips, and frowned at its flavor. Salt...salty water?

Her eyes had widened.

Salt water only resided in the ocean, she wasn't sure how she knew this information, information that wasn't exactly important, but she did and was she...Was she spilling the ocean?

But that thought had sounded silly, even to her own untrained mind.

The boy with the marks was named Kiba, after a fang, he had claimed.

"Kiba." The name was distant. It was there...but barely. A faint remembrance that gave her the impression of loudness, a canine, grass, and warmth.

The girl was TenTen and she said she was going to take care of her, because _he_ was no longer here to do it himself.

He?

Who was this he TenTen was talking about?

It couldn't be Kiba...because Kiba had backed her up on her promise fiercely and looked out of the window, whispering a name she never really heard.

They confused her but didn't elaborate any further.

Then in came an ever odder person. He was..._bright_.

Colors. Contrasting colors.

Orange and green, she found herself remembering slightly. And his eyes were a bit silly too. They were huge, and energetic, and full of something he called 'the flames of youth.'

Whatever that was, she wished to have it. Maybe those flames of youth that gifted him with never-ending energy could help her get up and start walking. She did not like staying in that mattress the female named Ino labeled as 'bed'.

Her body was too heavy to be lifted properly, however. She had already fallen countless of times before Ino with her endless platinum blond hair caught her and placed her back in bed after taking care of the 'bruises'.

Blotched, purple and greenish skin adorned her face from falling so many times. And her hands were red, the blood beneath showing slightly on the surface.

She had seen blood before in her mind. She knew blood.

So she panicked.

The girl known as Hinata panicked.

Blood.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

She didn't remember anything from this world, from this strange, but open and warm, and welcome and odd and silly, and _sane_, world.

But she did remember blood.

Blood had been her water. It had been the only thing she had known for a very long time. It had surrounded her, drowned her, _claimed_ her.

Blood had destroyed her.

And, most importantly, she remembered crimson eyes, spinning eyes that watched her with hatred.

Hatred she tried to build and throw back, only to see the eyes fade away and shift to a crystalline violet with circles surrounding the black pupil.

Sharingan.

Rinnegan.

She knew what they were. She might not know anything else, but those names were engraved into her mind to the point of never forgetting, their titles ringing in her ears in an unending echo.

Those eyes haunted her.

They were evil. They had made her go through that world of corpses and blood.

It had been torture.

She had lost her mind.

Or...she thought she had. But she hadn't.

She didn't know how long she spend trapped in that dimension, did not care to know.

She was now away, far, far, _far_ away from it, and that was all it mattered.

She was safe.

Right?

And those memories were starting to go dark and sink into the background, erasing themselves completely from her mind's eye. They were leaving her, they were giving back her sanity.

She didn't understand why this was happening or how, but she was glad.

She was immensity glad.

But not happy; she still remembered fragments and those small pieces of untold imagination met no description.

So it wasn't a surprise when she entered a state of shock and fear so high she couldn't move.

Just seeing the dark, crimson blood restarted the same heavy feeling at the pit of her stomach.

The girl named Hinata ceased breathing, her heart almost stopped, her veins ran cold.

To her credit, she did not scream. She couldn't. Since waking up, her vocal cords had refused to work, they had failed her when she opened her eyes for the first time in a long period to the light pouring from a single window and into the hospital room. She had lost the ability to speak, it seemed. The power to form words had disappeared. She just couldn't bring herself to take control and speak up.

So she just sat, watching the red, thick, hot liquid oozing slowly down her small, pale palm with the utmost horror.

"...okay, Hinata? If you leave this bed again, I swear I'll –" Ino stopped her monologue when she noticed the girl go rigid, her pale lavender eyes – eyes she had missed seeing and prayed for everyday until today to open –, staring fearfully at her scraped hand. "Hinata?" the blonde medic nin asked hesitantly.

But Hinata was unresponsive.

A small whimper escaped her lips after a moment and fat tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"Hinata-chan?" Ino prompted again, her inquiry turning to worry when she saw her eyes fixing solidly on the small gashes on her palm. "Hey, hey," she quickly tried to console and grabbed her small wrists into her own hands, hastily wiping away the red liquid with clean cotton-balls and healing the wounds with her chakra. But the smaller girl was still centered on her own world. "Hinata," the blonde shook her and finally lifted her chin to make the brunette face her.

"It's okay," she whispered, cupping her cheeks. "_You_ are okay. Do you understand me? It's over. You're awake now, you won't have to go back there." Wherever 'there' was. Ino wasn't an expert in genjutsu or any other techniques except for her own, but she was aware that living in a dream – or most likely, _hell_ – for years without stopping could cause damage to the mind. It was anybody's guess how far the damage went, but judging by her lack or memory and speech, it had been bad enough.

She heard the door open as Shino entered quietly. "I hope you don't mind if I stay," he commented when he caught Ino's light blue eyes on him.

Ino sighed, released Hinata, and waved a dismissing hand in his direction, telling him without words that it was fine. "Take care of her, could you? I need to make my rounds."

Shino gave her a nod in return and Ino ruffled the girl's longer hair affectionately.

"I'll see you later, okay, Hinata?" The girl simply gazed at her, her pale cheeks reddened by her tears, her eyes puffy. Ino turned to Shino. "Talk to her about yourself, please. Tell her about your life, about how she fits into it. Let her know who you are, what you are to her, and past experiences. Tsunade-sama wants to see how much she doesn't remember," she said.

"Understood, Yamanaka-san."

Ino's serious demeanor crumbled and she creased her nose. "Stop calling me that, idiot," she slapped him playfully with her clipboard on the top of his head, raising on her tiptoes to accomplish the task. The boy had grown into a very tall man in his late teens and though Ino was nothing close to short, she still had to struggle to go past his chin. "We've been spending time together for the last two years, don't 'Yamanaka-san' me."

Shino ignored the sensation of having his cheeks burn to bits and coughed awkwardly, thankful for his high-collar, which was hiding his unwanted blush because...Aburames did not blush. It was simply ludicrous. "Very well, Ino-san."

Ino sighed again, placing her fists on her hips. "You're hopeless. Would it kill you to drop the 'san'?" she muttered as she left, but not without first hitting him again, this time on the right shoulder.

Shino cleared his throat and turned to look at Hinata, ready to start talking. He wasn't a very communicative individual, but not having her around like it was custom had left him with many things to say, accumulated over the years.

He had expected to find her as Ino had seen her last, in tears, but to his chagrin, the small girl was looking at him with what he thought was interest. Gone were the tears and her gaze darted from the closed door to him, her head titled to the side, her lips slightly parted. It was as if a light had gone off and her mouth formed an awed 'o' only to change into a – did he dare say it – knowing smile.

"It's not what you're thinking," he blurted out.

Hinata's eyebrows lifted and Shino got the impression she thought he was lying. Well, as much as he hated to disappoint her, he was not.

Maybe.

He had missed her too much to disregard whatever she was thinking, so instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and began, "My name is Aburame Shino, from the Aburame Clan,..."

Hinata watched him while he talked, her lips twitching with effort at lifting them. The muscles there were strained from misused, but she didn't mind. The ache there reminded her that she could feel, and that she was now in the outer world, that she could smile.

As she heard him explain who Yuuhi Kurenai was, she couldn't help but wonder where these feelings of familiarity and warmth came from.

**.. .*. ..**

Months.

It had been months.

Two, to be exact.

And he was back on routine.

Nothing ever changed.

His ninja career was far from over, but he was to stay away from missions. Hell, he wasn't even in the active shinobi roster, and this bothered him.

His skills were rusting, damn it, and he hadn't run away from this village to Orochimaru for power for it to go to waste.

No way. He had lost too much to gain it in the first place, he wasn't going to let it go.

So he trained privately.

No one ever told him he couldn't, so he guessed bending the rules wouldn't affect him much. After a week of being under constant supervision and with no one trying to stop him from getting away with what he wanted, he made a place for himself in the Konoha forest, a place in particular.

It was secluded, away from the townspeople and other shinobi. Completing with his sentence after a fair trail and helping save the shinobi world in the 4th Shinobi War didn't equal positive popularity with the citizens of Konoha, and in the first month of his release, he had ignored the dirty looks and whispered words of 'traitor' and 'ninja filth' and 'Uchiha scum', but they were starting to get to him, which made that land just for him, and since no signs of human life or claim were found, he decided to automatically call it his.

Naruto was now too busy with studying law – Sasuke had snorted at the news – in his Hokage training and being a sensei to hang around the Uchiha's place now, but for the first few weeks, he had helped out in making sure Sasuke had all he needed.

It had been irritating, having the dobe play the role of a mother hen, but what could Sasuke do to stop him? Beat him to a pulp, of course...But that was forbidden. He couldn't attack the future Hokage without reason.

Apparently, making Naruto stop pestering him was not reason enough.

Sasuke honestly didn't see the problem, but Tsunade did. What a hypocrite. Sasuke could bet all of his money on the fact that the blonde more often than not sent the dobe on a flying trip across Konoha from her office window when annoyed.

Hence, that left Sasuke on his own.

His former Team Taka visited him constantly though, Juugo and Karin being the most constant. Suigetsu liked to roam and had decided recklessly not to ally with any of the hidden villages. But when he did visit...he always came in a bottle of wine.

He thought it was funny when fooling the guards and merchants and he enjoyed the entire trip from wherever he started it drunk.

Sasuke could simply sigh at his idiocy. His antics hadn't changed in the least.

The Kiri ex-ninja would never use his liquified brain for something proper, it appeared.

After training, Sasuke stayed inside his house or sat outside his porch until curfew.

That was something he specially loathed.

Curfew.

Hmph.

One Saturday morning, he anticipated spending the day just like any other – training until he collapsed with fatigue or someone came over to his house (Juugo, Karin, or Naruto most likely). He did not expect feeling a small chakra on his training grounds.

He came to a halt, black eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Who dared to step into his domain?

He was undeniably annoyed and with a grunt, the Uchiha kept on walking, ready to kick out whomever had invaded his territory.

What he never thought he'd ever see was a girl sitting quietly, looking down at something in front of her.

A girl? The hell?

Her dark hair was pulled to the side by a silver comb, the rest of it free and over her shoulder, her white kimono crisp and reaching down a little past her knees; her black shinobi sandals were off and placed beside her as she remained ignorant of him, still looking down at something ahead of her.

She better not be one of those weird females, he thought bitterly. He may be a traitor, but he was a 'handsome' and a 'hot' one at that, and he attracted the opposite sex like flies to honey.

"Who are you." He didn't bother in hiding his presence so his brow rose when the girl jumped in the air and instantly moaned in pain.

Now Sasuke was confused. Was she by chance...hurt?

She better not be. Otherwise it was going to be him getting the worst part of it. He was a warrior, and if there was something wrong with her, well, hell, he was not a freaking medic nin.

"I said," he repeated, louder this time, "who are you."

The girl's small shoulders tensed but she didn't answer and refused to turn around.

Confusion was swiftly replaced with irritation. "Are you deaf or perhaps mute?" he finally spat. "I asked you a question and I expect an answer in return."

Hearing her gulp did not make him feel guilty of causing fear. He did that with everyone in the village without doing anything at all. What was one more to the list?

Once again, no response.

Scowling deeply, he moved towards her so fast she didn't stand a chance.

The next thing she knew, he was standing in front of her, ready to get her out of a place he called his own but only to come to a sudden halt, the words dying in his mouth.

Big, lily colored eyes stared back at him, shock evident in the depths.

"Hyuuga?" he asked, shocked himself.

The girl's eyes opened a fraction more, and she stumbled back, hissing in pain as her right ankle shifted. She quickly took hold of it gently, and glanced up at him, insecurity obvious in her face.

Sasuke had to blink once to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

What the...Wasn't she under extreme custody by the Hyuuga Clan? How had she ended up here, of all places? It was too far away from the Hokage Tower. Wasn't she weakened after spending so much time in bed, her muscles stiff and aching with misuse? How had she made it this far out?

Sasuke wasn't a gossiper, but he knew very well who the little woman in front of him was and her condition.

She didn't remember anyone, and she was out of the ninja commission to current date. She was no longer an active kunoichi, just as he wasn't an active ninja, and she was mute.

No wonder she hadn't answered him. The girl, although able to reproduce sound, did not speak. Some aftereffect of trauma, he heard.

Tch, having him called her 'mute' a minute ago so bluntly was making him feel regretful of judging her so fast.

"You're hurt." It was more of a statement than anything else, but the girl gave her confirmation, a tense line forming on her lips as she grazed at her swollen ankle. "You can't move either."

The girl winced at his flatness.

"And, if I'm informed correctly – which I am – you are not to be left alone. Where is your escort?" he demanded as he eyed her sprained bone.

He was no medic, true, but he knew a sprained ankle when he saw one.

He didn't miss the way her eyes darted to the side and her hands began to fidget.

Having an idea of what she was so _not_ hiding, the Uchiha sat on his heels, fixing her with a stern look.

"Did you sneak out?"

Widened Hyuuga eyes looked at him in surprise, giving herself away.

He almost smirked. This girl was so easy to read, never mind that she couldn't talk.

"No permission, eh, Hyuuga? Aren't you a bad girl," he drawled.

The brunette blushed, her doe-like eyes screaming 'I'm innocent!'

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, genuinely curious.

The petite girl showed him the herbs gathered in a big plastic bag labeled with a name he didn't care to read.

"You were looking for this?" He received a nod. "Why?"

The Hyuuga blinked owlishly at him and then pressed her palms together, leaving the bag on her lap, and began rubbing them, applying a nonexistence formula on her swollen ankle as if to mimic putting on some kind of salve.

Yes. Sasuke didn't care as long as she got out of his training grounds. Now, how was he going to accomplish that with her unable to move?

Ugh. Where the hell was that dobe when you actually needed him?

Stuffing his face with ramen?

Sasuke hoped not. He could sometimes swear the idiot had more broth than blood running through his veins.

His first instinct was to take her home. That way he wouldn't have to bother with her anymore. He wasn't as heartless as people made him out to be, and if the dobe ever found out he even considered the idea of leaving the Hyuuga, the girl that he was no apparently in love with, there, in a lonely forest, all by herself when she couldn't walk, Sasuke would never see the end of it.

So take her home it was.

Finding that plan the most logical (it was the only one he had, truthfully), he got up and slid her sandals with the side of his foot in her direction.

"Put the one you can on," he ordered and picked the other one himself, surprised at how tiny her feet were.

_Yeah. This girl won't be the tallest in the bunch._

The Hyuuga did as she was told but not without first shooting him a questioning look.

"I'm taking you to your family," he told her to ease her anxiety.

She visibly relaxed and he didn't waste any time in raising her to her feet without applying pressure on her injured ankle and throwing her on his back unceremoniously, not caring if her kimono got wrinkled. Her fault, not his. He didn't know why on the name of her ancestors she would wear a freaking expensive-looking _white_ kimono in the woods.

Psh. Arrogant Hyuuga showing their wealth.

Idiots.

The girl gasped, quickly balancing herself by holding on to his frame as he placed his hands under her bare thighs.

Damn kimono. Why did it have to be this short? Couldn't it have been the longer version with the sleeves?

Once she was in place, he started to walk, shifting the girl's weight on his back so he could walk without difficulty. It wasn't as he thought her heavy, quite the contrary, really. And that was the problem. She was too light. He felt as if he didn't carry her correctly, he would forget all about her and end up dropping her.

The last thing he needed was one pissed off Hyuuga Head trying to put him in jail for dropping his little Hyuuga princess.

_Not gonna happen._

Though his plan was a good one, it had flaws.

The first one consisted of how to get her there without going through the center of town and the second one...where on earth was 'there'?

He had no idea where the hell she resided.

He almost face-palmed at his stupidity.

"Hey, you," he called out to her.

Once he felt he had her undivided attention, he went on.

"Do you know your way home?"

No answer.

Sasuke bit back a sigh. "Tap one for yes, two for no."

Two taps on his shoulder let him know that she was as equally clueless as he was.

Sasuke inwardly cursed. "Figures..."

So with no other choice, a grumpy Uchiha Sasuke headed to his 'abominable abode', murmuring incoherent words that were music to a masked ANBU Sai's ears, the latter smiling creepily in amusement as he followed while an oblivious Hinata simply shrugged and rested her chin on the side of his neck in the same fashion she did when Kiba or Lee decided to carry her home. This wasn't her first time like this with a male. She had been carried around since she woke up in that plain room in the hospital, both by women and men. Although it did bother her he didn't know this guy...but he knew her, and he was taking her home to Papa, so it was alright.

Right?

Sasuke almost jumped out of his skin when he sensed her getting in a better position, her hands loosing slightly around his broad shoulders, her...cough, cough, _gifted_ bosom pressing against his back.

Okay...this was getting a bit awkward.

"Comfortable?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

The girl gave him a contented "Mhm!", completely missing his sarcasm.

Sasuke shook his head but resisted rolling his eyes.

The dobe really owned him this time.

**.**

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A/N:

Short, but I'm busy this week. Hope you enjoyed it though :D

Thank you for being my 1st reviewers!: **Meech Macko, Narutoimagine01, narutodoesntdese, Neko-chan, 921350, Kia-B, Ro0w'z, umnia, Guest, auroroa0914, Deedeecrazy8, Love-MM, Encuentrame, YukiTenVianey, jecka-hime22, tastetherainbow17, and Pressing Point**! Thanks guys :D I can't believe you liked this story o.o

-2.16.14


	3. Chapter 3: Taka

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember_

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Chapter 3: Taka

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Sasuke wasn't a whinny individual, had never been, and not once had stopped to contemplate in becoming.

It wasn't in an Uchiha to complain.

If he was in trouble, he got out of it, no words uttered no matter what he faced. If he was cursed by irritating villagers who obviously wanted him to rip their tongues out, he walked by without so much as a sparing glance. When he was tired, sweaty, and enduring throbbing muscles, his lips never betrayed him with words of dissatisfaction. The uncountable times he was put into endless interrogation sessions with Morino Ibiki after returning to his place of birth, no protest exited from his being.

That just didn't happen.

It was the way his world worked, and anything aside from that was foreign.

There were times, however, in which he really wanted to shout some colorful words and throw everything out of the window (metaphorically speaking, of course, though the idea of doing that to the dobe didn't sound too bad), forget about the cause of the previous over-expressed actions and just continue living as if nothing had ever occurred.

Easier said than done.

"Hmm-hm-hm." The gentle noise coming from the girl he was carrying eased him out of his inner self and his features schooled themselves into a deep scowl.

Whether it was annoyance or indignation he was feeling (he was still unsure), the way she was acting, as if they were both childhood friends from some unknown era and not fresh strangers, bothered him.

She continued to hum the gentle melody, oblivious to his conflicted state of mind, one set of fingers tapping rhythmically against his back as her other hand kept itself busy by drawing sets of imaginary circles over his shoulder blades, her head lolling from one side to the other, incredibly long indigo locks swaying with her movements.

All in all, she was the epitome of contentment, dwelling in her own little paradise containing rainbows and unicorns.

Sasuke couldn't believe it.

This was..._unusual_. No one touched him willingly anymore, damn it. He didn't allow anyone to make contact if he could help it, and what was he doing right now?

Letting some weird petite girl hang on his back as he presented himself as a freaking human board extraordinaire to fancy her every whim, of course.

Maybe he was exaggerating and the girl had simply grown bored and found a way to amuse herself as he made his way to the Uchiha District (or what was left of it).

Maybe so, but that didn't mean he had to like her strange, almost childish in nature, ministrations. Because he didn't.

Really.

Her fingers were small, like the rest of her, her large eyes a common exception among her Clan. Tiny digits breezed over his shirt and warmed his skin underneath the thin material, sending currents of electricity as she drew circle after circle, sometimes converting them to spirals.

He stupidly wondered if she possessed the Lightning Element.

She didn't look like the type.

Huh.

Shaking his head inwardly, he picked up his pace and disregarded the girl's soft, almost melancholic melodies as he approached the Uchiha territory.

The deities only knew where she had gotten that tune from. It sounded a bit familiar and it reminded him of something...something from long ago, if the fog in his memory served him in any way.

He didn't care to find out, though. There was no point.

A journey that would normally take him a few minutes to travel had taken him more than an hour to cover. It consisted of less than four miles of distance that wouldn't have been a problem, but with the girl injured...He couldn't risk upsetting her ankle, lest he ended up breaking it off or something. With his luck, the possibilities of something bad happening to her while having him in charge were rather high.

For the first time in his life, he wished the location of his house closer.

As a child, he never paid attention to the fact that the Uchiha District was sited away from the other clans, desolated, and neighborless.

He had awakened in the hospital after the occurrence that destroyed his younger years and turned him into a more mature, aloof, and cold person. He had no time to focus on mundane details that didn't require his utmost attention.

Now that he was back and living where the Second Hokage forced his ancestors settle, he was highly aware of just how empty his surroundings were.

Yes, he had the forest on either side, but that was it. There was no one for approximately seven miles radius.

The observation had flared his anger before he pushed it down.

His people, his clan member, forced to live in exile in their own village. It was like spiting on the Uchiha name, and he was powerless to stop such an humilation.

It just wasn't worth it. It was the past; he couldn't change that and... that killed him every time.

The Pain attack several years ago had damaged the place and several houses. Ironically enough, because the Uchiha Clan had resided outside Konohan walls, the destruction was minimum, saving pretty much more than two thirds of the buildings that weren't yet in decay.

Behind him, the girl's humming came to a stop, and he felt her head lift from its place on the comfortable side of his neck, her long hair following her motions. Didn't she know what scissors were? Why wasn't her family cutting it all off? He could have sworn her hair weighed more than the rest of her.

A questioning sound came from her throat and Sasuke had to open his mouth to explain.

"This is the Uchiha District." Short and to the point. It was enough in his opinion.

Besides, she didn't need any information about it, seeing as she wouldn't stay long.

He would have to call Karin via one of his summons to heal that ankle of hers and then send the Hyuuga on her way home...Well, send Karin _and_ her to the Hyuuga state. Sasuke may be reckless but he wasn't stupid; her clan wouldn't take well to the traitor walking her home, even in good terms.

He sensed the Hyuuga's curiosity spike but kept quiet.

She grabbed his shoulders for support, her dainty fingers gripping the back of his head to lift herself higher as she scanned the area, pale eyes wide with wonder, scrutinizing wooden houses, abandoned stores, electricity posts that were no longer serving with a system of electricity, and finally settling on the Uchiha's fans spread throughout the place.

A tick mark came to be born on the Uchiha's temple as the Hyuuga, in her excitement to see more, tugged at his ebony strands and irritated his scalp.

_What. The. Hell ?_

If she felt the fires from an inferno emitting out of Sasuke, the Hyuuga promptly disregarded them as the heat coming from the sun's rays.

As they walked through the desolated District, Sasuke's charcoal eyes narrowed as he realized that it wasn't as empty as he thought it was.

It didn't take him long to reach his house and less to take notice of two figures standing a few years away from him.

A microscopic twitch of his mouth akin to a smile graced his lips and he tried not to turn it into a grimace as the Hyuuga on his back unconsciously took more of his hair into her fists.

Hmph. Guess he wouldn't need to use his summons anymore.

**.. .*. ..**

Mid-length flaming hair held in a low ponytail shifted to the side as Karin cocked her head in surprise.

She had felt their chakras moving, and feeling something..._odd_, in one of them, had come with Juugo to see what Sasuke was up to (among other reasons).

She knew that he reserved most of his day for training, something that even she found silly. There was no reason for Sasuke to train. They were living in times of peace and he was one of the strongest ninjas and the only Uchiha in the possession of the powerful Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan; one glance from those eyes and you were dead. All in all, Sasuke didn't need to polish his skills any longer.

The female Uzumaki fixed her purple rimmed glasses, her old brown ones long ago destroyed in times of war, and fought the urge to blink at the scene in front of her.

Was that...?

Was that Sasuke-kun _piggy-ridding _a girl...?

Juugo seemed to follow the same train of thought for he spoke.

"Is that...Sasuke?" he asked doubtfully, as if he didn't believe what his eyes showed him. His hold on a bottle containing a suspicious liquid loosened to the point that he almost drop it. He sounded bewildered and Karin had to mutely agree, her mouth nonfunctional as she tried to process what she was seeing.

The sight of one powerful Uchiha Sasuke in his sleeveless v-neck black shirt and training shinobi pants and sandals almost made her blush and squeal inwardly, but adding a pair of womanly thighs being held by those powerful hands just didn't add up to the equation.

Sasuke never carried anyone – _anyone_, and that included teammates unless absolutely necessary. Seeing him walk on their direction so casually but with an undeniable grimace – a grimace of ...pain! – was just something neither Karin or Juugo saw everyday.

Karin's red eyes flickered to the source of the Uchiha's discomfort to find pale hands, buried deeply in raven-colored locks. A head of indigo hair, almost black with purplish highlights in the sun, rose above the Uchiha's, big eyes opened to the extreme in an attempt to take everything she observed in one go.

She seemed unaware of her and Juugo's presence, and Karin could see her tightening handful of dark hair between her fingers as her gaze lingered in the Uchiha Memorial in front of Sasuke's house.

The unmistakable twitch in Sasuke's eye announced irritation and Karin simply stared, not knowing how to react.

Just what was going on here?

First, she senses Sasuke's chakra close to another source with a unique, almost unnatural energy and sick with worry, she comes to see what's happening...and this was it?

She didn't know what to think.

"Juugo. Karin." Sasuke's voice snapped her to attention and she straightened, closing her hanging mouth.

"Sa-sasuke-kun," she babbled.

"Sasuke..." Juugo began, looking at his charge, whom had shrank into herself the minute the rest of Team Taka spoke. "Who is that?"

"Her name is Hyuuga Hinata." At the mention of her name, the girl on his back went still.

Recognition was obvious on their faces.

"You mean the Hyuuga heiress? The one in coma?" Karin inquired, trying to catch a glimpse of the well-known woman unsuccessfully.

Her curiosity had turned to wariness the second her and Sasuke weren't longer alone, it seemed.

"Hn," Sasuke answered.

"Why is she here?" Juugo wondered, his brows arched upwards. "I thought the Hyuuga were always watching her."

"I found her in my training grounds. She's hurt." He turned to the female of the team and Karin didn't need instructions to know what she had to do next.

She took notice of her shoeless foot and nodded thoughtfully after assessing the damage.

"I can fix that."

**.. .*. ..**

Getting into the house was no problem, making the Hyuuga let go of Sasuke's hair was another matter altogether.

"Hinata-san," Karin tried to soothe her by talking to her sweetly but she wasn't known for her amounts of patience and it came forced instead.

"Karin," Sasuke hissed as the Hyuuga on him didn't let go but pulled at his locks tightly. For her petite figure and small fingers, she could really cause him pain. "Whatever you're trying isn't working."

What had initially started as a way to keep herself in a sitting position had turned into a form of protection once Sasuke tried to get her off his back. Now, instead of managing to sit her down in the sofa, both of them had ended up on the seat. Well, he had. The strange Hyuuga woman was still clinging to him.

She was scared of being on unfamiliar ground, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out, but did she really had to tug at his scalp?

Karin looked helplessly at Juugo, whom had left the glass bottle somewhere around the house and had opted for becoming a tree branch for several species of birds.

Sasuke tried to ignore his surroundings and concentrate in literally un-gluing the Hyuuga from his head, but it was hard when she was so close and...she moved, and along with her, her attributes.

Sasuke was no pervert, but he was a man, and a man, or any person really, was bound to find this sort of position more than awkward.

"Juugo, help me out! Try to get some of those animals to help! I'm sure she'll like to hold one." The red-haired woman turned to the hidden figure of the Hyuuga. "Won't you, Hinata-san?" she cooed.

There was no response (obviously) and Sasuke had to grit his teeth in exasperation.

This was getting ridiculous.

Karin sighed and threw her hands at the sky as if to ask for divine guidance. "She doesn't listen to me, what am I supposed to do?! I need her to bite my wrist so I can heal that foot of hers, but does she look like she wants to be healed, now does she?! She doesn't look–"

"Karin," Sasuke growled, cutting her off.

Juugo watched his teammates sympathetically. "Why...don't we introduce ourselves?" he suggested.

Karin blinked behind her glasses and scowled. "Gah, whatever. We got nothing to lose."

How about my breath? Sasuke thought but didn't voice it.

Sighing and squaring her shoulders, Karin placed her fists on her hips and cleared her throat. "I'm Karin, Hinata-san, and the man over there that looks like a freak of nature with the hundreds of birds perched over his shoulders is Juugo and the bottle– the bottle we – Argh!This is stupid!" she exclaimed. "I feel like I'm talking gibberish!"

Juugo frowned lightly and Sasuke glared at the floor.

They weren't helping him at all.

"Hyuuga." His smooth, velvety voice didn't have any effect on her. "Hyuuga, let _go_."

Nothing happened.

"Hyuuga," he said in warning and he had to swallow a groan of pain when the woman jumped at the coldness of his voice and pulled more of his hair into her hands.

Unbelievable.

This..._This_ was unbelievable.

Juugo walked and crouched on Sasuke's eye level, attempting to see past him and at the petite woman. Sasuke simply glowered at nothing and everything.

"Hinata-san," Juugo spoke calmly, gently, and warmly, almost caressing her name, a very sharp contrast with the Uchiha's grumpy demenour. "Would you please let go of Sasuke? We promise not to hurt you. Karin only wants to help you heal. You do want to feel better, don't you?"

A moment's pause and then a small nod.

Juugo smiled, although she couldn't see him (she was still hiding behind raven hair) and continued. "My name is Juugo. Nice to meet you."

The dark-haired woman hesitated, slightly poked an eye from the mess that was now Sasuke's porcupine hair, and deliberately let go of it at hearing Juugo's soothing words.

Sasuke, meanwhile, almost groaned with relief.

Juugo didn't spare him a glance and said to the Hyuuga, still smiling lightly, "Hello."

She simply waved shyly at him in return.

"Will you allow Karin to heal you?"

She looked at him warily.

"It won't hurt you. You will only bite her, and you'll recover from any wound. Is that alright?"

She nodded, still unsure, pale eyes searching Juugo's own. He offered her a reassuring grin and motioned fro Karin to take over.

Sasuke moved from the couch as well, leaving the Byakugan user sitting there as Karin took the heel of her foot in one of her hands.

A distant crash and glass breaking made her jump in uneasiness but Karin's roll of eyes, Sasuke's shake of head, and Juugo's sigh told her that nothing was out of order.

She distantly wondered what that noise meant.

It took longer to convince her into biting Karin's arm, but in the end, Juugo and Karin persuaded her enough for Hinata to sink her teeth intot he Uzumaki's flesh.

Not used to the magical works of Karin's ability, Hinata wriggled her toes and moved her ankle back and forth, her eyes the size of softballs.

She was healed...just by biting a person...

How peculiar!

"Done!" Karin declared, rubbing her marked skin. "As good as new, eh?"

"Bah! I would have done better."

Sasuke didn't need to turn around to see the person standing on the doorway.

He had a good idea of who that was.

Karin pulled down the sleeve of her chunnin uniform and scoffed. "As if!"

"With my love, everything is possible. You underestimate me, Karin, and that has always been your mistake."

"Hmph. Idiot," Karin murmured under her breath and turned around to say something else, only for her to choke on her own saliva.

Behind her stood Suigetsu in all his naked, smirking glory.

"Hi there, little princess," he said simply, his purple eyes set on Hinata before shifting to Sasuke momentarily. "Hey there, Sasuke! Long time not seen!"

There was a suspended silence in which Juugo frowned in worry at what was to come and Sasuke's Sharingan activated on its own accord.

"SUI-GET-SU!" the shrill feminine cry pierced the stillness and Hinata's ears and she winced, covering them with her hands.

The Hyuuga was confused. What was happening? Why was the red-haired woman covering her eyes and yelling?

A part of her began to then shut down, and she wondered why her face felt so hot when she looked over at a white-haired stranger walking nonchalantly through the room, that is, until he was received with a kick to the face, courtesy of one enraged red-haired healer.

The guy was not wearing clothes. What was wrong with that?

He was completely bare. Unlike the rest.

Wait...

Not...wearing...clothes?

Her eyes widened at this and she would have yelped, but it was too late.

Her mind had finally caught up – at least sort of – with what she was seeing.

And for the first time since her awakening in the Konoha Hospital, Hyuuga Hinata fainted.

**.**

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**A/N:** Ahh, so different from Nightmares, don't you agree?

Thank you: **tastetherainbow17, Guest, Kia-B, Pressing Point, Narutoimagine01, 921350, aurora0914, Meech Macko, mac2, Neko-chan lover, ErzaCastielScarlet, exotao, umnia, ImCutePoison, Encuentrame, YukiTenVianey Team, Smartlooks, saddestsigh, remiedy, tactics2012, Darth-Taisha, Kibachow, WateryInk, RikuDai, MirukoUchiha, A sunny place for Sasuke, XxJasmineReyxX, rainbowxpersonality, PuppetPrince, & NaruHina1! **

-Yeah. Sasuke's not easily 'rusted' but in this fic, he thinks he is. He's bored with nothing to do. He's over-thinking.

-I keep my Sasukes straight in an I-Don't-Know kind of way. He just comes to me differently depending on the circumstances.

-You asked for more chapters. Well, that's up to you. You want more chapters, keep reviewing and supporting the story!

-Hinata's inability to speak is a side effect of trauma (as I explained earlier in Chapter 2).

-Also, please review. A lot of invisible readers come, follow, and leave. It's kinda sad :c.

-P.S: My excuse for being late? Homework. Homework is a vicious thing, everyone, a very, very evil concept. I beg thee, despise it with all thine dark little heart. It might just disappear and stop haunting me.

P.P.S: Follow me on Tumbrl! I go by the name of Fher43 (see how the # is reversed?). I will either let you know if I suddenly go AWOL or if I'm being chased by some rabid chihuahuas down my street or busy with nightmarish semester projects or something.

-**Chapter 4: Confrontations** will be out tomorrow...if you review, of course. The more the merrier!

-March.26.14.


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontations

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 4:

Confrontations

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The Sharingan was a very powerful dojutsu and among its many techniques, it had the ability to follow fast motions and tune them down to the point of their essence.

This was no surprise to those familiar with the cursed crimson eyes, and it was no new concept to a skilled Sasuke.

He saw the Hyuuga's obvious puzzlement at Suigetsu's..._lack_ of dress, and watched the slow procession of final meaning gaining in her fluorescent blush with a hint of amusement. Amusement, should it be added, that fled the second he witnessed her eyes go immeasurably wide and roll to the back of her head.

It took him a quarter of a second to realize where those symptoms were going, and when he did, he was beside her before Suigetsu could transform into water and slip away from a red-faced Karin.

Later, he would thank whatever being watching over him (if such thing existed) that she was already on his couch. Otherwise, going back to the Interrogation and Torture Hqrs for a pleasant (not) visit for having being found with a Hyuuga's broken skull splatted all across his clean floors would've been ensued by the ANBU in patrol.

He was sure Ibiki would welcome him with open arms.

Sasuke made a face as he tried to fix the limp female body in his arms.

"Hyuuga," he shook her, but she was dead to the world. He tsked in irritation.

Juugo, the only sane person at the moment that wasn't chasing or being chased, decided to add his two cents and point out what Sasuke had already worked out in his mind. "She fainted." There was a sliver of disbelief in his words. "No one has ever fainted around Suigetsu..." he added as an afterthought.

Sasuke responded by grunting and placing the Hyuuga in a position that wouldn't break her neck, struggling with the length of her hair as he did.

It was noon, and already, as he heard Karin scream some obscenities and Suigetsu laugh like a lunatic, he knew it was going to be a long day.

So much for routine.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Hyuuga Hinata had never fainted in her life.

At least, she didn't know she had.

To her awareness, losing consciousness so abruptly was a whole new experience, and it was...unpleasant.

Light eyes fluttered open, fighting against the light coming from...somewhere.

Huh? This didn't look like her house...or room...or anywhere she knew, really.

Big violet eyes slowly but surely peered at her from a curtain of white hair, shining creepily with intent, and she gasped in surprise, barely containing a scream of terror. Her first instinct was to back away, and she acted on it.

Bad idea.

A squeak of pain abandoned her lips as she hit the hard wooden floor after having rolled down the couch she had, until seconds before, been lying on.

Sharp teeth formed a shark-like smile and Hinata was suddenly feeling rather conscious.

"Hey!" he said to her, grinning from ear to ear, still hovering over her head and invading what one might define as personal space.

She simply gaped at him, too scared to do anything else. His mouth looked...too pointy and sharp for safe comfort. No one, not even Kiba-kun, had teeth that menacing.

The white-haired man with light blue-tips lost his grin and blinked down at her, then glanced at her from head to toe. "Did I break you?" he wondered and closed the distance between their faces (if such thing was still possible). There was no room to hide and no space to be used. Hinata was in a very tight situation, and there was no Hanabi-imoto to help her this time.

The man blinked again and narrowed his eyes searchingly, oblivious to her chaotic state of mind.

"Meeeh," he drawled. "I think I did break her," he muttered to himself, only for something else to catch his attention. "Woah, you have a nice rack there," he smirked stupidly, his eyes roaming two very nice-looking breasts.

Hinata gave no answer but his comment and the way he was eying her like a mouth-watering steak made her cheeks burn in self-awareness.

_SMACK_!

"..."

...and there he went again, flying across the room like a rag doll.

Hinata inwardly winced, warily turning to face the source responsible for sending Pointy Teeth crashing against the closest wall.

Toned legs in knee-length shorts were the first things she saw, and a dull green colored vest, like the one Lee-kun and Kiba-kun wore, followed. Hair the color of flames tied in a ponytail seemed to raise like burning embers and a fist shook in the air as the woman with hair of fire hollered, "That's what you get, insensitive idiot! Let the girl breathe, you are suffocating her!"

She then looked at the Hyuuga, still sprawled at her feet. "What are you staying down for?! Get up, fix your kimono!" Fire (as Hinata had coded her) ordered and contradicted her words by doing everything she said herself without waiting for Hinata to respond.

Before Hinata even knew it, she was sat upright, her kimono was neatly pressed by Fire's efficient hands, and she had, yet again, no idea of what to do regarding these...unusual characters.

Where was Stranger, anyhow? Where had he gone? Her gaze looked everywhere, but there was no sign of his dark eyes and tall stature.

However, his presence wasn't really primordial. Not at the second because a gigantic blade, like she had never seen before, came in a clean swig, missing her by a hair, aimed at Fire.

"Arck!" Karin yelped and got out of the way just in time. Her crimson eyes opened at the extreme and seemed to blaze with an uncanny shine. "Are you trying to kill me, you good for nothing bastard?!"

Pointy Teeth hoisted his sword on his shoulder and smiled lop-sided, completely happy and unharmed by Uzumaki's previous blow. "That was the plan, Karin," he admitted, bashful.

She huffed and stalked out of the living room area, her head held high.

"He-he-he," Suigetsu chuckled madly. When he shifted his attention from Karin's retreating back, he took notice of the Hyuuga's awed expression.

He followed her line of sight and grinned madly like a kid alone in a firecracker warehouse, looking back at her with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Do you want to try it?" he asked mischievously, as if taunting, waving his weapon in the air for effect.

His smile could have split his face in half when she nodded.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Karin dried her hands on a clean handkerchief and entered the living room again.

She had been helping Juugo (or trying to) set lunch, but the nature man had declined and asked small favors like "pass me that", "check that pot", and "set the table".

Hmph! It wasn't her fault she'd been banned from kitchen classes when she forgot to turn off the stove five months ago during a lesson. Really, the old lady in charge, whatever her name was, had exaggerated, saying she had almost burned her entire classroom.

Ha!

Karin hadn't burn her classroom...just part of it. Nothing that couldn't be fixed.

What she encountered in the living room almost made her trip and land on her face.

"His name is Kubikiribocho," Suigetsu was explaining virigously, looking rather proud of himself, as the Hyuuga girl, Hinata-san, nodded her head hastily in understatement.

They were both sitting across from each other, the after-mentioned weapon resting on his lap, his hand caressing the sharp blade adoringly. Hinata-san's legs were folded underneath her, a pose worthy of a Hyuuga, and Suigetsu's...let's not go there.

"And it is one of the legendary swords of the Village Hidden in the Mist," he proceed worshipingly and winked at her. "Are you getting all this? I heard that you don't remember a lot of things in your life. I hope you know the history of the Shinibi World, otherwise...I'll have to teach you. But that doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

A shake of her head, no.

Suigetsu sniffed pathetically. "You appreciate me!" he cried dramatically and would have pulled her in a hug if not for the sword laying on his lap.

Juugo, wearing an apron (an item only he dared to use) and holding a wooden spoon in one hand, a furry brown-colored squirrel on his shoulder, poked his head from the kitchen's doorway, his mouth open to tell everyone lunch was ready only for his words to die in his mouth before they had the chance to be formed.

His eyebrows lifted and he walked to stand beside the red-haired woman, staring at the scene of Suigetsu trying to make Hinata-san take a good hold on Kubikiribocho, the sword two times her height.

"What is he doing?" he asked to no one in particular, watching as the small girl wobbled from one side to the other with Suigetsu trying to maintain the balance.

Karin, however, chose to answer, waving a hand, detracting importance. "The idiot has gone beyond crazy. He's – according to him – teaching Hinata-san kenjutsu."

Hinata was trying. Really, she was, but it was so hard..and the sword so heavy. She had never carried something so burdensome and she wondered how long it had taken Pointy Teeth Sensei to get used to the weight. But the prospect of learning a techniques with weapons, like TenTen-chan's, was exciting. She had to do her very best and then try to tell Papa about it! He would be so happy if he knew!

She was so focused she missed the way ash-colored eyes observed her struggling from above the house's second floor.

Sasuke's lips twitched to the side in a gesture of hilarity and he suppressed the smile fighting to blossom, but it was rather difficult when one witnessed such a silly display, and a smirk forced an appearance on his face.

He had never seen something so...so...rare.

Just imagine. A Hyuuga, in his home, playing ninja.

She was unusual...but then again, she had been in love with the dobe, so of course she had to be weird.

Weird to the core, that is.

He had known this by the way Naruto talked of her character when she popped into the conversation back in his prison days, in which the blond's voice became a daily occurrence.

Although, he had to admit to himself, he hadn't expect this level of innocence...Maybe the way she didn't know of her past existence had erased the hardened shinobi exterior.

Hn. A valid theory.

As entertaining as the show playing in front of him was, he had to stop the two before they destroyed his living room.

He knew very well Suigetsu could do it and he wasn't about to spend money on buying new furniture when he could prevent said furniture from being destroyed in the first place.

He descended the stairs without hurrying (not like he needed to), and shook his head. Everyone was so focused on the Hyuuga and Suigetsu that they paid him no mind.

Hinata, feeling a sudden pressure that didn't come from Suigetsu's hands stabilizing her or the weapon in her grip, looked up to meet with dark eyes.

Oh. It was Stranger.

But there was something different about him. Was it the way he stood, with his head to the side and gazing at her, or the way eh held himself, with complete confidence?

Hinata shrugged mentally.

Huh. Maybe it was the way he was dressed. His black shirt was gone, replaced by a blue high collar cotton one that made his hair and pale skin stand out.

Stranger reached the last step and tilted his chin as the others began to take notice of him. Turning his back on them all, he headed for the eating area and pronounce a simple, "Let's eat," that made everyone follow him.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Hinata wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do.

Sure, she couldn't turn down a meal; that would be rude. Even she knew that. Her Papa and Hana-chan had taken care of her manners. They had educated her until she knew what a Hyuuga did and didn't do while being a guest.

And so far...she was doing a poor job of executing those teachings.

She had pulled her host's hair,fainted, and practiced around with a very, very big sword.

She had never heard of her Papa instructing her in that kind of behavior and now that she was mostly aware of it, she felt a bit ashamed.

She couldn't mess up this meal! She had to give a good impression.

Suigetsu sat at her right, talking about something she hadn't heard, and Karin on her left.

On Pointy Teeth Sensei's other side, Big Man ate with prolonged bites and in-between Big Man and Fire, sat her host, Stranger.

She hadn't seen him eat anything...but he was holding his chopsticks, and his food was slowly disappearing from his plate...

Hmm. Stranger was a very curious person, she thought idly, staring at him. He had helped when he didn't have any reason to, and had brought her to this place. She wondered where she was...not that she was complaining. Stranger had been the cause of her meeting Pointy Teeth Sensei, Fire, and Big Man.

They were funny...scary, but funny. Not to add aggressive...and loud...and with a very filthy vocabulary that she was sure Papa would want to clean with a bar of soap.

They were unusual.

But so was him.

He was quiet, and reserved, it seemed...He was different from the others.

But there was also something interesting about him...It was intriguing, but she didn't know why.

Suddenly, onyx eyes met her own and she almost chocked on the bit of chicken in her mouth at being found out.

His face turned away as she tried to gulp the entire piece of meat down, eyes tearing up with effort, but she was able to still see...a smile or a smirk (?) on his lips before he took a sip of his tea and it was gone.

Yes, Stranger was a very odd individual.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Karin stiffened for a moment, the rim of her cup touching her glossed lips.

Sasuke's eyes flashed to hers and watched her frown slightly in concentration.

A moment later, he felt it too.

Something was nearing his compound, fast.

The red-headed woman nodded subtly and Sasuke grunted quietly.

Great. More people to deal with.

He got up from his seat and all eyes turned in his direction. Without an explanation, he headed for the main entrance of the house and didn't have to wait long for them to show up.

The setting sun, announcing the approach of twilight, glowed a fiery orange, its light washing over three figure heading his way.

A woman with tan skin and slender but hardened build wearing a dark blue sleeveless Chinese styled top was the first person he saw. To her left, a man covered from head to toe in the uniform for those in the Unit of Interrogation and Torture followed, dark glasses obscuring his eyes.

An Aburame.

Obsidian orbs shifted to the most noticeable and wild-looking of the three.

Black shinobi pants against powerful legs and a jonin vest with a long-sleeved mesh shirt finished the look. An Inuzuka, by the marks on his face and his untamed brown hair.

No dog?

Huh.

"You!" the Inuzuka called and Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, the picture of cool aloofness in the flesh.

"This is Uchiha territory. You have no business here," Sasuke told them, looking at each of them in the eye, allowing the reddish hue of his Sharingan to menacingly glow to let them know he wasn't taking their presence well.

"We're sorry to bother you, Sasuke-san," the kunoichi spoke and took a step forward, her arms crossed behind her back. Her posture showed vulnerability, as if telling him in return that she had come with no intention to fight.

He continued to glare as she explained herself.

"But we have come for a good reason. We're looking for Hyuuga Hinata, and we have concluded that she has been here recently," was what she announced.

Of course. Why else would they come near this place, he thought bitterly.

"I know she's here, TenTen," the brown-haired Inuzuka member said, not looking at her, for his eyes had settle on Sasuke from the very beginning. "She's here. I smell her."

Sasuke stared back, not giving anything away. Even his posture spoke of neutrality.

"Uchiha-san," the Aburame greeted with a low dip of his head. "We have reasons to believe Hinata is here. Would you care to inform us if you've seen her?"

Finally. At least one of them went straight to the grain.

"She is here," Sasuke admitted, taking the disgust out of his voice. They dared to enter his territory, the 'haunted' part of Konoha, just for one woman.

He knew she was important to many, but he never thought they would come sniffing around his District.

"You better not have hurt her," the Inuzuka growled.

The bun-wearing ninja slapped the back of his head and hissed a, "Shut it! Let Shino take care of this," at him.

Sasuke easily pretended they didn't exist and kept his gaze on the Aburame.

"Can you tell us how she traveled this far?" was the next question.

Feeling more and more like this was an interrogation for the I&T department, Sasuke answered, "I found her on my training grounds. She twisted her ankle. I didn't know where she lived. I brought her here."

The more information he gave them, the quicker they would leave, the better off he'd be.

"She _what_?!"

"Is she okay?" asked the brunette, her brown eyes darkening with distress.

"She was healed by a medical ninja." _Now get the hell out of my territory. _

"Ino-san?" the brunette asked in surprise. To her knowledge, Ino was on mission and outside the village.

His mask of indifference scrunched up in displeasure, and the mere gesture was enough of an answer.

"Sakura-san?"

His face soured even more.

"No."

A moment's pause in which no one moved, trying to figure out what kind of medical ninja would dare to go near the Uchiha beside the Yamanaka and Haruno and then –

"Hinata!" the Inuzuka stepped into his house, pushing past him without permission.

Hn. And here he thought Inuzukas were all about respecting one's territory.

Sasuke had to physically restrain himself from reaching for the missing katana at his hip. He was still in probation, one tiny mistake here, and he'd be exiled. Tsunade had been playing no game when she told him that bit of information.

The Aburame, as if to test his quantity of patience and self-control, stepped after his teammate with a muttered, "Excuse me."

The girl with chestnut hair – TenTen, was it? – winced at her friends' boldness. She hesitantly faced the glowering Uchiha and laughed weakly. "He-he, sorry about that. They don't know what they're doing."

This did not appease the Uchiha man.

TenTen sighed in utter defeat and her shoulders lumped but hastened to add, "They're just worried, that's all."

The _please, please, don't kill us_ went unsaid, but loudly implied.

Sasuke promptly ignored her and turned back to his living room, his brows furrowed in an unwelcome frown, leaving TenTen to decided whether or not it was a good idea to step into the wolf's den knowing that the wolf and its allies dwelt inside.

Seeing no other option, she gulped thickly but discreetly and soon followed.

"Who are you?" Kiba was snarling at Suigetsu as Sasuke entered the kitchen, an accusatory finger pointing at the ex-Kiri ninja.

Team Taka had stood in response of the incoming party, all of them in relaxed, yet ready poses in case trouble aroused.

Suigetsu's smile became psychotic and he placed one arm around the Hyuuga's shoulders,the only one who remained sitting, pressing his body sideways to hers. "Why, I'm her new friend."

If he was looking for an immediate response, he got it.

"Friend? _You_?" Kiba almost blanched, looking physically ill at the sound of such a dreading idea but quickly regained his composure. "Get your filthy hands off her!"

The oblivious Hyuuga simply cocked her head to the side, chopsticks still suspended half-way to her lips, watching with owlishly big eyes the ping pong match she had had the misfortune to be in the middle of.

"Oh?" Suigetsu said innocently, and tightened his hold, a grinning cheek now firmly pressed to the Hyuuga's face. "Did you say something? I couldn't hear you since I'm too busy with someone, you see, and you are too unworthy of my attention."

Heat like no other began to take over her features and Suigetsu smirked, rubbing his face to hers at a torturing snail pace as the Inuzuka burned inside.

"Ahh, you meant _this_, right, Triangle Boy?" the sharp-teethed shinobi asked smugly.

"I said not to touch her!"

"Awww, come on. She's _so_ soft. Don't you want to share her?" Violet eyes lit up mockingly with hope, ignoring the death glare he was being given by the rest of the shinobi present.

"Suigetsu," Karin barked, pushing her glasses up with her left hand. "Let go of the girl already. You're getting your nauseous germs all over her."

Suigetsu pouted and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at her in distaste. "Beh, shut up, carrot woman. You weren't invited into this conversation."

"What did you just call me?!" she cried, her eating utilities, still within the grip of her right fingers, snapping sharply in half.

Sasuke's eyes caught the silver glint reflecting over the kitchen knives at the corner of the room and he had to keep still despite wanting to use those very, very sharp blades and get all of those freaks out of his house. True, he didn't need weapons, but that didn't stop the increasing temptation to use them.

Silence had always been a lovely thing and he had always cherished it, and now he was in need of a very heavy dose of it.

Juugo placed a calming hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder in an attempt to stop the fight between the two, and looked at Suigetsu, amber eyes stern. "You heard Karin, Suigetsu. Just let Hinata-san go; you're flustering her."

"I am?" Suigetsu wondered out loud in dishonest surprise and inched back to see the Hyuuga's hot-pink face with scrutinizing eyes. "Oh, would you look at that!" he exclaimed proudly. "She's so adorable I could kiss her senseless right now!"

That was the last straw.

"Get. _Away_. From. Her," Kiba bit out, ready to lunch himself across the kitchen table, the food Juugo had worked so hard to set up be damned.

"You said to keep my hands off her, Triangle Boy," Suigetsu corrected him petulantly.

"I said to keep your filthy paws off her! It's the same thing!"

"You said haaaaands," Suigetsu insisted with an air of infinite wisdom around him, looking at Kiba from under his nose with the expression of someone who had just crushed a nasty thing under his shoe.

Sasuke suppressed a groan of annoyance.

Suigetsu was really trying to reach the end of the Inuzuka's patience. If he had that at all in the first place.

"I won't say it again," Kiba bared his teeth, his dark eyes menacing. This only made Suigetsu's Cheshire smile stretch to its maximum.

He finally released the Hyuuga and began to reach for the giant sworn resting on the corner. "Bring it on, Triangle Boy," was what came out of his mouth. "I'll show the princess that I'm a better ninja that you'll ever be."

Before Suigetsu could swing his sword, regardless of the small space, and Kiba act upon the challenge – a challenge that might have been complied if not for the Aburame, who restrained the other male member in Team Kurenai with his bugs,– Sasuke was there, holding Suigetsu's wrists, locking them together, while having his other hand inside the comfort of his pant's pocket in nonchalance.

"Enough," his dry voice commanded, his bloody Sharingan absent, though there was no need to activate it at all. The small wave of killer intent he gave off was received by both fear and immediate caution.

Everyone knew (except one small Hyuuga), that you just didn't mess with the last of the Uchiha.

"Get yourself under control, Kiba. We are invading Uchiha-san's home. Show some respect."

"You too, Shino?!" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief as he tried to get rid of the insects crawling all over his skin. "Whose side are you on? Call your bugs off!"

Sasuke almost expected the window over the sink to break and for the Inuzuka's gigantic white dog to come to his master's aid and bare his teeth at Suigetsu as well.

The window remained perfectly unbroken and Sasuke eyed the argument in front of him with an expression of unfathomable boredom.

_Idiots_.

Not bothering to warn the kenjutsu specialist for he knew he didn't have to, Sasuke loosened his grip on the water nin and acted as if nothing had ever happened.

Suigetsu, now free, raised both of his palms in sign of peace and shrugged. "Whatever."

"Let us be on our way, Kiba. Our purpose for coming here has been accomplished. We will wait for Hinata _outside_," the Aburame concluded and grabbed the glowering brunet from the back of his jacket to drag him out.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm not done here!"

Shino's glasses gave off a morbid shine. "_Kiba_."

"What?! I told you – "

"Shut up."

The rest of the Inuzuka's protests met with deaf ears.

TenTen witnessed the entire episode with a cringed face and warily gave the Uchiha a sheepish, very forced smile that quivered at the corners. "S-sorry about that, Sasuke-san."

"Hn."

Seeing that the raven-haired man wouldn't give her more of an answer, she added, looking at Hinata, "I'll be outside, too, Hinata-chan! Say goodbye, okay?"

The pale-eyed girl blinked but then nodded enthusiastically, giving TenTen, of all the things, a smirk.

The bun-wearing kunoichi snickered in return so uncannily alike it made Sasuke wonder if she had corrupted the apparently innocent Hyuuga. There was no way the Hyuuga Hinata everyone knew would smirk, and certainly not that mischievously.

With a last wave at Sasuke and company, TenTen exited the house, shutting the door politely as she went.

Sasuke closed his eyes and released a silent sigh he hoped no one had noticed.

His day had turned upside down just by helping one small woman.

That'd teach him not to go around the woods picking strange females. Not that he'd done it before, but one could never be sure.

When he opened them, she was standing in front of him, a shy smile occupying the smug gesture she had worn not a moment before.

He had to admit, as much as he disliked smiles, hers fit her face quite nicely. Her pale eyes, tinted with soft violet, brightened up like crystals catching light, and became immensely alive. He had always believed that the Hyuuga eyes' main look was that of death for the lack of pigments, but here she was, a member of said clan, proving his believes wrong.

"Well?" he inquired after a few seconds of silence, a brow slightly lifted quizzically. "Be on your way."

The Hyuuga's eyes drifted to her feet, and she bit her lip in obvious nervousness.

Sasuke fought down the urge of slapping his forehead in aggravation and instead forced a calm and deadly soft, "What now, Hyuuga?"

He wasn't expecting an answer – why hold his breath when he knew she couldn't speak verbally – but a sign would've been helpful.

Suigetsu watched on, his lips pulled back in a savage but amused smile as he observed his once upon-a-time leader struggling for patience.

Aw, wasn't this sweet? He guffawed to himself.

Karin eyed the woman in white with curiosity and something more in her bright crimson eyes. "I think...," she voiced hesitantly. "I think she wants to thank you."

"Hm!" the Hyuuga's smile grew, as if to agree.

_So that's what she wanted. _

On second thought, it made sense. She looked like the kind of person to have manners – well, the episode of her clinging to dear life to his hair, of all things, aside.

The girl was about to bend at the waist and give Sasuke a bow.

He knew it by the way she pressed her hands, palm down, to the side of her thighs and one of her knees dipped lower than the other.

He was always quick to notice, and instead of staying where he was, arms crossed,and quiet, he stopped her with a single word, "Don't."

He didn't want her gratitude, because that was what her gesture meant; it spoke of gratefulness. Thanking him felt wrong.

He didn't need a 'thank you' to live. He couldn't have very well let her hang in the woods with a swollen ankle and unable to speak, as much as he complained about it in his mind.

"It's not necessary," he continued.

Opal eyes with light purple blinked at him but she didn't bow, and that was what Sasuke wanted.

He thought she was going to turn away and leave.

She was healed; she could walk. Her friends had tracked her down; they were now waiting outside for her to be escorted home. She was leaving and he would never see her again.

Their lives had never crossed, and he had reasons to believe that she would never be seen again.

He really did.

But the Hyuuga wasn't going to just depart without surprising him.

And surprise him she did.

She lifted herself on her tiptoes, and kissed him.

It was a brush of lips – supple and full and soft and warm lips – connecting with his cheek, a whisper of many more to come, but a kiss nonetheless.

And Uchiha Sasuke, former Avenger and the last of the Uchihas, feared by the elite of Konoha and the Shinobi Nations, didn't – couldn't – move a muscle.

He froze on the spot, black obsidian eyes two-thirds wide, and cheeks subtly alight with a suspicious shade of red, all of those signs gone unnoticed by the rest of Taka as the innocent child residing in the body of a woman danced – because there was no other word for it – directly to Suigetsu, then Juugo, and lastly, Karin, repeating the same gesture to all of them.

Sasuke missed the way Suigetsu winked at her, erupting giggles from the small Hyuuga.

He missed the way Juugo smiled stupidly with a bright, almost prideful flush on his tanned face.

He missed the way a stunned Karin opened and closed her mouth, speechless as she cupped her kissed cheek.

Sasuke could only stare and miss all of their reactions because suddenly, everything that made his world consisted of the strange sensation of lightning prickling gently at his cheek.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**XXXX**

A/N: Originally, this was the other half of Chapter 3 but I had too much work to finish the last few scenes and I didn't want to rush it. I really wanted this to come out good enough for you all.

I had so much fun writing this XD. As you may have noticed, I'm building relationships here ^_^. Friendship this, yadda, yadda, you know the stuff.

**Thank you: Darth-Taisha, tactics2012, umnia, xHinataLovex, remiedy, YukiTenVianey Team, God Of Twilight, Elephantsneedwater, Guest #1, 2, 3, XxJasmineReyxX, NaruHina1, Ro0w'z, ayaki chi, aurora0914, A sunny place for Sasuke, Delicatelyplaced, mac2, Deedeecrazy8, rainbowxpersonality, PuppetPrince, Kia-B, & Narutoimagine01!**

-And yeah, we MIGHT see Naruto...soon. Or not. LOL. That's for you to find out in the future and for me to write.

-March.31.14


	5. Chapter 5: Innocence

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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.

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Chapter 5:

Innocence

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Hinata was confused.

True, it wasn't the first time she found herself in that puzzling position. As a matter of fact, two months after her awakening, she still found life to be a gigantic puzzle with many of its pieces missing. Patience had then be extremely required (lest she burst into tears of pure frustration,) and with it, understatement of several things. She had gotten used to the reality of not knowing every aspect of daily life as a normal person, and she had accepted it, because what else was there for her to do?

However, that didn't mean the state of unending perplexity didn't bother her.

No. Among the very few things she didn't appreciate one bit (sour-flavored medicine holding the number one spot in her list), the idea of being left off the hook made her fume silently to herself like a petulant child deprived of delicious sweets in a candy store.

It just wasn't fair...She also wanted to know what was going on!

Hence, her predicament to current date.

Hyuuga pale eyes watched as Kiba-kun walked from one side to the other in complete anger, yelling words she couldn't hear, but if the look of disgust and outrage on his sharp features had anything to say, his outburst couldn't be at all gracious.

The action of him excavating a rectangular-shaped hole on the grass he was presently stomping on was rather interesting, though. Hinata had witnessed him do a lot of peculiar things, but never anything like this. Her eyes steered to his feet and up his face in silent thoughtfulness.

She wondered how long it would take him to bury himself down...and how long it would take for him to reach the other side of the world. Would he fall out into the black abyss of the night known as 'space' if he did reach the opposite end of the planet?

Those were some of the questions that popped into her mind as she sat on the park's bench, her hands folded neatly the way she had been taught by Hanabi-imoto, her back rod-straight.

Another inquiry that seemed to float in her mindscape revolved around the likes of 'why is Kiba-kun so angry?' and 'what is he saying?'

Kiba-kun was by nature 'wild' or so Tsume-sama had said when Hinata went over to bake cupcakes last week at the Inuzuka Compound.

Indeed, the fervor in which he waved his arms this way and that was the very definition of 'wild'.

He was talking so quickly his lips didn't seem to touch at all, and spit was beginning to fly from the direction of his mouth.

She really wanted to know what he was saying. Whatever it was that he was arguing with TenTen-chan, it must have been intense.

Maybe...

There was no way to know, really; TenTen-chan's hands on both sides of her head were effectively muffling anything not meant for her innocent ears.

She mentally pouted.

Again, no fair...

Meanwhile, TenTen was too busy scowling in disapproval to take notice of Hinata's discontentment.

Listening to Kiba's rants had become the norm since day one, there was no going around it, but he was really making TenTen run out of patience.

It was a feat, that of making TenTen impatient.

She had dealt with Lee and Gai-sensei, and most of the time, those two crazed shinobi had been _together_. The combination of Lee plus Gai-sensei was a dangerous one to see; TenTen had mental scars to prove it. She had managed to come out of those situations alive (albeit barely) and was now a proud survivor with tons of patience.

But Kiba...Oh, Kiba was really doing it. He was really starting to make her want to sew his mouth shut with ninja wire.

"She could have been killed! Those monsters could have eaten her alive!" He kicked a bystander pebble whose only mistake was to exist out of his way. "Argh, she was supposed to stay home until we returned! So much for leaving her in a compound full of all-seeing eyes! Hyuugas think they are so high and mighty and claim to be invincible when it comes to pretty much everything, security included! Bah! Invincible my –"

"Kiba," Shino said in light admonishment from beside TenTen and behind the bench Hinata was occupying. "Stop that."

But once again, Kiba was deaf to Shino's subtle warnings. "They can't even do what they are told to! My Team and I were only gone for five hours! Five! 'Take care of Hinata-sama', yeah, right! They lie, they _lie_! They say 'Sure, man, go ahead, go to that boring mission that won't be worth your time with those Genin brats of yours, we will take care of Hinata-sama for you'!"

TenTen almost dared to interrupt and tell him a Hyuuga would never say something of the sort and much less using such poor vocabulary but bit her tongue and held herself back. It was better for Kiba to let it all out now.

Well, no. That wasn't right; it was better for _her, Shino, _and_ Hinata_ to let _him_ let it all out.

Having to hear a broken record of complaints wasn't much fun to begin with, and having to hear it throughout what remained of the day was just a big and fat no-no.

Especially when an innocent person was within their midst. The girl might not understand everything, but TenTen would be damned if she allowed Hinata to hear Kiba's coarse language!

Neji-kun would surely castrate the Inuzuka if he knew.

A pang of pain pierced her chest, reopening the old wound that hadn't healed since her teammate's departure to the afterlife. The brunette fought to keep her face in that sternness and disapproval, but it was hard. Already, her mouth felt dehydrated and her throat tight.

_Don't you worry, Neji,_ she thought. _I'll take good care of Hina-chan for you. She'll be okay. That's a promise._

She glanced down at the oblivious girl. Even now, she didn't know of her deceased brother.

Hokage Tsunade had told them that it would take some time, but that it was better for Hinata to remember things on her own – if she managed to remember at all. No one knew if her memories had being wiped clean or if there was a block stopping them from coming. The only way they would get some answers was through time.

TenTen hated time. She disliked to wait with her heart pounding loudly inside her chest in apprehension.

She sometimes wondered how Hinata would react at the news of her dead niisan, or the achieves in her old life. TenTen didn't know, nor could she predict.

This was a different part of Hinata no one had ever really seen.

This Hinata kept her shy persona, but she was bolder in a childish way. She was curious, and she followed that curiosity everywhere, no matter where it led her to. She was like a kid in her early stage of development; wondering and endearing.

Neji would have loved her, the way everyone did, but what scared TenTen the most wasn't Neji's or anyone's approval of what Hinata had become. No, she feared that if Hinata kept this soft attitude, this childish self, the moment she knew of the harsh reality of her shinobi career, she would break.

She never had the chance to mourn her brother, never had the time to say good-bye or even leave the battlefield.

Hinata had made a lethal sacrifice and paid for it with three years of her life. By all means, she was supposed to be gone.

But she was breathing, she was warm, she was full of vitality, although everyone close to her had thought otherwise during her prolonged comatose state.

And that comforted TenTen, the fact that Hinata was here and healthy. She had a part of Neji with her still, and she had gained a beautiful sister in the process. Before, they had been friends, now, her bond with the bluenette had strengthened.

"Just how the hell did she managed to escape everybody's notice, anyway?" Kiba asked dumbfounded, scratching his cheek. Apparently, he had finish rambling like an unstoppable parrot.

His question made her blink, and she realized she had dwelt in her thoughts longer than expected. She blinked again until Kiba's meaning sank in.

Then she smirked proudly.

"Our girl is smart," she said smugly, letting her hands fall from the Hyuuga's ears to pat the crown of her head affectionately, missing the way Hinata's face lit at the gesture. "She's learning well. Those lessons she's been receiving from us are finally paying off."

Shino nodded in agreement. "Her physical endurance and stamina are getting better," he commented. "Although her chakra reserves could use some work."

"And her vocabulary is also expanding," TenTen voiced like a mother gushing about her prodigious child.

Kiba paused in thought for a moment and then his eyes narrowed, brightening with a new scheme. "Vocabulary..." He hesitated for split of second and then reached for the pouch at his hip, taking out an old package of flashcards bent at diverse angles and, if Tenten was seeing right, stained with tea.

Her brows furrowed in full of disbelief. "You...still use those?" she asked slowly.

The cards were old news to everyone present, Hinata included. Kiba had used them to teach her the name of things and what they looked like during her stay at the hospital. After their purpose was served, the cards were gladly forgotten. Or so TenTen and Shino thought. Seeing them randomly stacked in Inizuka's hand proved that they were mistaken.

They wouldn't have been that bad, the cards, that is,...except that Kiba himself had designed them. And by 'designed', it meant that the Inuzuka himself had sketched them with his very hand and terrible drawing skills.

Ignoring TenTen's and Shino's looks of mutual horror, Kiba crouched in front of Hinata and said, "Look here, Nata."

He presented her with a card after a minute of searching for it.

On its surface, a man with a slashed headband with an over-done evil smile and money-signs for eyes stared back at her.

She remembered it meaning something along the lines of 'criminal' and 'missing nin' but she hadn't seen the flashcards in so long she couldn't be sure.

"This guy right here," Kiba tapped the man's cartoonish face and looked cautiously around, whispering conspiratorially, "is _evil_."

Hinata looked at the brunet with widened eyes.

TenTen's brow returned to its twitching, and Shino lowered his face in the high collar of his jacket, shaking his head shamefully at what his teammate was about to do.

"Ahh," Kiba grinned cheekily, unaware of everyone but Hinata. "You are finally getting what I'm trying to say here. Good, good."

He took a marker from his weapon's pouch (who knows what the hell he was doing with it in his possession) and began to draw something on the card.

Shino, TenTen, and Hinata leaned forward simultaneously in barely contained intrigue.

Dark eyes intense, Kiba finished the last touches to whatever it was that he was doing, frowned a bit, added one last detail, and smiled, finally pleased with his artistic (not) work. "Now, pay _clooose_ attention," he instructed her.

Like the good girl she was, Hinata nodded in silent comply.

Pausing for the sake of dramatics, Kiba looked sidewards at her and with a '_ku-chaw!_' reversed the card so fast Hinata could have sworn she heard the air around her 'whoosh'.

Silence.

Even the crickets in the distance chose that moment to shut up.

Then...

Different reactions ensued.

TenTen face-palmed; Shino's bugs buzzed loudly in irritation, and little Hinata...cocked her head to the side in incomprehension.

The face of what was (according to Kiba) Stranger with a huge scowl, exaggerated eyebrows pulled down over demonic eyes, and shark-like teeth similar to those in Pointy Teeth Sensei's mouth stared back at her.

A sinister light seemed to glow on Kiba's face as he neared hers. "Do you...remember the story of the boogeyman...Hinata-chan?"

She gasped, covering her eyes with her hands.

Obviously, she did.

Kiba nodded somberly, lips pressed in seriousness as Hinata peered at him fearfully through her fingers. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, I really am, but this guy..." He leaned closer to whisper macabre-ly, "is evil!"

Her lip trembled. No, no...But he had acted so nice to her...

"You have to stay away from that bastard, ya hear me?"

Bastard?

What was a bastard? She idly asked herself only to come up blank. Fire had said it earlier today...and now Kiba-kun was saying it too. Was it common knowledge? If so, she had to learned it also!

"You can't go near him, do you understand?" Kiba continued.

She batted her lashes in an attempt not to cry and sniffed.

Stranger? She had to stay away from him?

But she liked him. He was weird, but he was also nice! Didn't that count for something?

Her eyes seemed to beg the brunet to say otherwise but Kiba simply closed his own as if her question pained him and shook his head firmly in denial and dreadful confirmation.

"I'm sorry, Hina –" he started to apologize again but before he could finish, a set of knives flew his way, courtesy of TenTen, who had had more than enough of his stupidity.

"Idiot! What do you think you are teaching poor Hinata-chan over here! Look at her face, she's about to cry!" she exclaimed.

Successfully avoiding the kunais that had wanted to viciously impale him into the nearest tree, Kiba stood up and brushed himself off of any dirt. "She has to know what kind of person that guy is! She's not safe around that traitor! Didn't you see what was going on in that kitchen? I bet they were fattening Hinata-chan up to eat her later. Didn't you see?!"

TenTen, her eye still dangerously twitching, turned her back on him and huffed, annoyed. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my entire life! Stupid Kiba, doesn't know what he's saying." Walking around the park bench, she took Hinata by the hand, and said, louder, "Don't pay attention to any word he says, Hina-chan. Kiba is bad influence for you, trying to feed you those ugly thoughts! Forget about the boogeyman or whatever the heck that is and that disastrous drawing!"

"That's not true!" Kiba shouted, running the space dividing them to stand in front of the Hyuuga. "Tell her that ain't true, Hinata! I'm one of your best friends, I have to protect you! So I can't be bad influence! And my drawing skills are great! Don't you think?" He looked at her expectantly.

"Hmph!" TenTen snorted before Hinata could so much as nod dumbly and tugged at the smaller girl's hand to make her walk. "Stop contaminating her mind, Kiba! You've done enough for today, go away now! You have people waiting for you at home. Isn't that right, Hinata?"

Hinata was at lost for what to do and her eyes darted from one of her friends to the other.

Thankfully, Shino knew when he had to step in and save her.

If a mythical being like a gallant knight in shinning armor existed, then it was Shino and his sagely decision to interrupt the two fighting tanned-skinned people trying to viciously mutilate each other with a stare-down.

"It's growing late," he murmured quietly, though his voice was carried to the rest of the party, his glasses reflecting the small amount of light coming from the setting sun. "We have to take Hinata home. Why? Because her father is waiting for her. Why? Because it's time for her to sleep. Why? Because Tsunade-sama –"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kiba cut in impatiently, waving a hand in front of Shino's face much to the young Aburame's irritation. "We all know what Hokage-sama said about Hina's sleeping cycle. She has to be in bed at eight, blah, blah, blah this, blah, blah, blah that. We get it alred – ARCK!"

TenTen and Hinata jumped at the sudden scream and saw Kiba get attacked by a wave of beetles. Seeing the direction in which they came from, they released a sigh of relief. Well, Tenten did, Hinata simply hoped her friend was alright. She knew Shino-kun would never hurt Kiba-kun but...The kikachu didn't look – or sounded – happy.

"Thank you, Shino," Tenten said with obvious gratitude.

Shino stuffed his hands on the pockets of his black trench-coat and began to walk in the Hyuuga Compound's direction, the cloud of insects holding a struggling Kiba prisoner, floating after him. "It was my pleasure," he replied.

The rest of the way to the Hinata's home was shared in peaceful and familiar silence.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

The lights illuminating the Hyuuga gardens reached her before the tall structure of the gates did.

Hinata's pace fastened, and it was her turn to drag Tenten with her.

"H-hey! Wait up, Hinata-chan! We are getting there, we are getting there!" TenTen chuckled.

Shino waved at the guards keeping watch on each of their respective tower and the wooden doors leading to the Hyuuga Main House opened.

It didn't take long to reach the front door, nor see the figure of Hyuuga Hiashi outside of it, waiting for them to return.

"Welcome home, daughter," Hiashi said, his eyes warming at the sight of Hinata, the hard lines of stress on his light-tanned face easing.

Hinata blushed happily in response, quickly letting go of TenTen's hand to run and stand in front of her Papa, her arms crossed behind her back, her posture straight and as tall as she could make it.

She looked up at him expectantly, suppressing a smile.

The Head of the Hyuuga Clan sighed with a hint of amusement.

He knew what she wanted.

Raising one of his palms, he set it over his daughter's head and ruffled her mane of thick and soft indigo hair, messing it up.

Hinata squealed in delight and beamed at him, her lavender eyes twinkling with adoration.

It wasn't the gentle and timid smile he had grown accustomed to see from afar before the war, nor the shy glances he knew she stole at him during meals four years ago, but he would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't like this side of his daughter.

She was care-free, something he had killed in her as a child and had regretted as he held her limp hand in her private hospital room. Watching one's child struggle with each breath and not opening her eyes for so long changed even the coldest of hearts.

Now, there was no fearful looks, or casted-down eyes. Hinata had grown to love her father, and it showed.

A part of Hiashi knew he didn't deserve those feelings of affection. He wasn't worthy of them, but it was a relief to him at the same time to know that there was no rancor or hurt directed at him in those inherited eyes of hers.

"Did you have a good day today?" he asked her, like it was custom.

Her face lit up and she nodded fervently, a smile that showed all of her white teeth breaking to the surface.

"Hmph," Hiashi muttered. "Did you enjoy, by any chance, your little escape?"

Hinata's face froze in an expression of 'oops' and her blush intensified to that of embarrassment.

"I see," he said, letting go of the matter easily, if just this once. "If you wanted to go out, you could have let Ko know; he would have taken you to town."

Hinata bit her lip, feeling thoroughly ashamed. A reassuring pat and a slight smile from her Papa, however, made her smile again.

Hiashi turned his gaze to the awaiting shinobi a few yards behind Hinata and gave them a polite nod of acknowledgment. "Where was she?"

Kiba, now free, stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but TenTen was faster and calmly said, "She was in the hospital helping Shizune-san with the newborns. Hinata-chan has taken a liking to babies," she added helpfully, not that she needed to. In the first month of physical therapy, Hinata had learned to walk all around the hospital grounds, and had memorized her way around in less than a week. Days later after Ino had left her alone for a moment, she had disappeared and been found in the motherhood wing, mesmerized by the tiny bulks of babies sleeping in their plastic cribs.

It didn't surprise anyone in the Rookie Nine or the two members of Team Gai. Hinata, after all, had been notorious for her motherly nature with kids before leaving for war and entering in coma.

"I see," Hiashi said again. "Thank you for bringing her home."

Shino was the one who answered him. "It was nothing, Hyuuga-sama. We were glad to be of help. But I believe it's time for Hinata-chan to go to bed."

"So it is," he agreed.

"She already ate!" TenTen added out of nowhere. Both men looked at her, a bit taken aback by her outburst. "It was a light dinner, all she needs is a shower and off to bed she'll be!"

Still eying at her oddly, Hiashi half-turned. "...Good. Bid them good night and farewell, Hinata."

Hinata did as she was told and waved at her friends.

Shino nodded at her, Tenten smiled and waved back, and Kiba pouted, looking down at his teaching-cards.

So much for knowledge. People just didn't appreciate him anymore.

"Good night," Hiashi said out-loud for both of them and – turning his back completely on the three Konoha ninja – entered the Hyuuga house with Hinata following behind.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Sleep just wouldn't come.

A pale hand ran through ink-colored hair and Sasuke shifted in his bed, restless.

Tch-ing in irritation, he sat up on his futon and rubbed weary eyes.

The amount of silvery light coming from the moon outside made the room look mysterious and fragile, but Sasuke was feeling too uneasy to enjoy the view.

Getting up, he exited his room, shutting the door quietly after him. It just wouldn't do if Karin, Juugo, or Suigetsu, who had decided to stay the night, awoke to see him sneaking out of his own house.

Descending the stairs mutely, Sasuke bypassed his old Team and tried not to shake his head as he took notice of their postures.

Juugo laid close to the large windowpane sited at the far side of the living room with Karin curled up to his back, the red-haired woman unconsciously searching for the closest body of warmth.

Suigetsu, on the other hand, seemed to be sprawled all over the floor, mouth agape, drool falling from the corner of his lips, limbs everywhere and occupying more space than necessary.

Sasuke had the sense of kicking him on the ribs on his way out but decided against it.

Retrieving his shoes, he exited the house and was soon out of the Uchiha District, his mind focused on one single thing; train.

It was mind-numbing and would eventually wear him out.

It was what he needed.

His black orbs looked up at the North Star and he sighed quietly, knowing it would be a long night.

It took a lot of effort for his stamina to decrease. Morning would probably reach him before he knocked himself out but he found that he didn't mind as much he initially thought.

His earlier trip to his training grounds had been stopped by that small Hyuuga woman. It was only reasonable for his body to feel so agitated.

As if said body remembered what the Hyuuga had done to it, the place where her lips had touched him that afternoon heated up as if someone had pressed burning coals to his skin.

"Hn."

It was better if he ignored it.

But it was difficult. He had frozen on the spot like a fool!

It wasn't the first time a girl had kissed him. As a young boy, many had taken advantage of his obliviousness to kiss him anywhere they were lucky enough to touch (Sasuke suppressed a shiver at the unpleasant memories), and he was a ninja, just how the hell had his body managed to betray him?

It was stupid, he decided. It was not something he should concern himself with.

It just didn't matter. The girl was now gone. They had never crossed paths– or spoke – with each other in his twenty-years of life. What were the odds of them meeting again?

Sasuke scoffed.

None. There were none.

But Fate liked to mock. And everyone knew that its twisted ways had always found their roots in the Uchiha Clan.

And Sasuke was no exception because when he entered his personal woods, a familiar-looking plastic bag filled with herbs and labeled with a name he hadn't cared to read once upon a time, shone like a beacon with the help of the full moon in-between dark bushes, where a certain little woman had forgotten it that very morning.

And written in neat handwritten, the name he had believed never to encounter again.

_Hyuuga Hinata._

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Yes. Fate liked to play sick jokes on him, alright.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

A figure silently dropped from her window, coiling with the shadows on the walls and blending in them with ease.

The form of a nineteen-year-old Hyuuga woman with long indigo-hair dressed in her white yukata inhaled sharply in her sleep, as if aware of blue eyes, bright as a pair of azure diamonds, watching her while shinning in the black darkness invading her room.

Uzumaki Naruto observed her quietly for a moment before walking to stand beside her bed, taking in her tiny body comfortably cocooned in lavender-tinted sheets.

One of his hands unconsciously breezed over her cheeks before he cautiously started to caress them in untold patterns.

He ached to touch her, to _truly_ feel her, and know that she was willing to touch him in return.

But that was impossible, and he knew it.

The tables had reversed. Now it was her who wanted nothing to do with him.

And he hated it.

He hated knowing that she couldn't see him without whimpering in fear.

It pained him to the point of not being able to breathe properly. The ache in his chest prevented any oxygen from rushing to his lungs.

It was hard to believe his position. It was _unthinkable_ for him to grasp that this woman, Hinata, had forgotten him.

It felt _wrong_. This wasn't what he thought would happen once she abandoned her long slumber.

No, this wasn't it at all, he thought, eyes dimmed as memories of her frightened face flashed through his mind.

The only way to get close to her without startling her was for her to not know of his presence.

So he had no option but to come in the dead of night, when most people slept, and see her. He wouldn't call these events visits, because the word wasn't fit to describe the scenario he found himself into.

He picked one of her limp hands and brought it to his face, pressing it to his whiskered cheek as much as he could without disturbing her. The warmth she emitted made him sigh with pleasure and not want to give it up ever again.

But once again, he knew better.

His time with her was counted, kept in timed periods.

He looked at the watch tied to his wrist and exhaled.

He had a minute.

Sixty seconds before Hyuuga Hiashi came to ask him to leave.

He was grateful to the old man, he would never dare to say otherwise, but he couldn't help but resent him for giving him these dumb schedules.

Couldn't he stay with her a little bit longer?

As much as he disliked it, though, he understood.

The old man had grown too fond of his daughter, and was now protecting her the way he hadn't before; Naruto was glad for that, but he hoped one day for Hiashi to let him have more time.

It was all he asked.

For now, however, he would do with what he had.

Ten seconds.

_The hand holding hers to his face fell slowly, deliberately._

Seven seconds.

_A soft, melancholic sigh echoed in the room._

Four seconds.

_A feather-light kiss placed gently on her unmarked forehead and a pleading whisper._

Zero seconds.

No more time.

"_Sweet dreams, love."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

**XXXX**

**A/N:** This plan is killing me...Naruto! I'm so sorry! *sobs. Making him suffer makes ME suffer.

Can I...*sniff, sniff*. C-can I turn this into S-SasuHinaNaru? D:

NO xD I can't...sadly.

Good thing I can write different fan-fictions! 'Exquisite Reality' (NaruHina AU Supernatural) will be updated soon. Some of you read it in the past and I wish to update it but...not a lot of reviews :c.

-Interaction with (some) friends, check!

-Interaction with Papa, check!

-Naruto P.O.V, check!

-Sasuhina moments...er, you will have to see what I have planned for next chapter XD I myself am already laughing with what will be occurring :3 Childish Hinata is so fun to write! *squee!

But watch out, enjoy the happy moments! Don't forget the main category is Hurt&Comfort!

-Grammatical mistakes, yup! It's late; I'm sleepy. I need energy o.o

**Thank you so much!: BlackMoonTiger, Deedeecrazy8, rainbowxpersonality, Delicatelyplaced, damnheart.o3, Narutoimahine01, Ro0w'z, Kia-B, Kibachow, PuppetPrince, Guest #1 and #2, XxJasmineReyxX, aurora0914, remiedy, xXYour DoomXx, umnia, Maggies, kichisaburo, heyla, Delicate Plume, YukiTenVianey Team, champylin, Starcakes, Aluminesa, reikotsu, Chew it Over With Twix, & SabakunoAnjel! **

I hope you guys liked this :D And keep reviewing! I breathe reviews like I do oxygen! Plus, ya know you wanna since the more reviews equals motivation which equals faster updates!

-4.14.14


	6. Chapter Point5: Stormy Night

**A/N #1: Prompt taken from Kia-B; it was posted on Tumbrl, but due to a lot of readers lacking an account, I decided to post it here as well. More details below. **

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

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Chapter 5.5:

Stormy Night

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Sasuke had just ran the dry, clean towel through his soaking hair after a long day of low-ranked missions, messing locks of dark ebony in all directions, when his skilled ears heard it.

_Thud_.

_Clank!_

He came to a dead halt in front of his closed bedroom door, his brows knitted in puzzlement as he retied the second towel around his hips more securely.

_What the hell is that?_

"Eek!" was the way in which his mental inquiry decided to answer, followed by another hollow thud, and it didn't take a genius like him to connect that voice to the only person who dared enter his house without his permission.

Juugo and Karin would rather cut their legs off before they went into his home without asking first and, hell, not even the dobe was brave (or stupid) enough to place a toe on Uchiha territory, much less break into Sasuke's room, without previous approval.

Only a little fool would do that, after all, and _she_ was certainly both very little and extremely foolish indeed.

Swiftly debating whether or not to dress in something more proper, the Uchiha man tsked in annoyance and decided to take care of that petite problem that was known to his brain as Hyuuga Hinata.

With that plan in mind, he followed his shinobi instinct that pinpointed him in her direction, and proceeded to carefully walk inside his room as the skies outside his curtain-less windows were invaded by spiderwebs of skeletal-like fingers of lightning and the booming sound of deep thunder resounded in the horizon.

A startled squeak gave away her final position and Sasuke couldn't seem to choose between feeling amused, confused, or irritated when he faced, of all the places for her to be, a closet.

_His_ closet.

"What does that woman think she's doing?" he muttered to himself as his eyes narrowed.

A clap of powerful thunder made the glass vibrate and the floor shake with its might as he stood before the closed and confined room holding all of his clothes and now, apparently, a mute Hyuuga.

How shocking.

A frightened gasp was emitted from the other side and Sasuke, having had enough of this nonsense, twisted the knob without hesitation.

What he saw when he opened the door was the last thing he had expected to find in a stormy evening.

A head of unique indigo hair poked from in between white bedsheets, and a pair of bright mercury eyes with hints of clear, reflective lilac shone from the darkened room like twin moons in a summer solstice. The hangers holding his shirts were scattered around the floor, and said shirts were piled up in front of the Hyuuga woman like am mini mountain of fabric, as if she had formed a hand-made fortress against what laid on the outside and the current place she had (silently) claimed as her own. She sat, embraced by sheets, on the far end of the squared space, buried by coats with the sewed Uchiha fan on the back, and the smallest flashlight he had ever seen in her hand with a thin, upside-down book by her side.

Sasuke didn't know what to think, nor did he know what to do as he often did when a matter concerned _her_, so he stayed where he was, his hand lightly resting on the door's knob, and blinked once.

"Hyuuga?"

The question came slow, deliberately, and slightly demanding.

The woman's small head nodded as in confirmation to his acknowledgment, her face half-covered and her body unrecognizable under the sea of shirts – _his_ shirts, mind you, – that surrounded her from all around.

Sasuke's brow twitched unconsciously; it was late and all he wanted after a long day of stupid missions was to at least get dressed without the Hyuuga woman -or any woman, really- and her all-seeing eyes jeopardizing his privacy. "May I ask what you are doing, out of all the places in the house you could have picked, in my _closet_?"

The Hyuuga's available hand started to slowly reach for the edge of the blanket hanging halfway down her face and lower it all the way down like a turtle tucking its body inside its shell, hiding from Sasuke's view as if she could possibly disappear and transport herself to an scowling-free environment.

"That trick doesn't work on me, and you know it." Though he knew his words wouldn't stop her from trying.

The girl didn't respond (because she couldn't) and Sasuke crossed his arms over his bare chest, fighting down a sigh.

He didn't even question how she had gotten here. She worked in mysterious ways, and how she was able to sneak past a compound full of Byakugans right under their noses was, although fascinating, not something he wanted to know. He had learned not to question her methods of escape and simply accept them. However, she had broken into his house, and after the first time she had done that, he had taken precautions. The fact that she had made it all the way to his bedroom, unharmed, was both reliving (for he knew the Hyuuga patriarch would surely _castrate_ him if otherwise) and disturbing (just how the _hell_ did she do that?).

Hinata, hearing his silence, sank more under her self-designed ultimate hidden spot and let out a quiet whimper when she heard a chaotic boom outside.

This time, Sasuke really did sigh and shook his head, realizing at once just what was going on.

"Don't tell me you are afraid of thunder," he muttered dryly.

Her head snapped up and she clumsily removed her makeshift costume in favor of giving him a dark look that resembled a rabbit growling at a baby carrot.

...completely nonlethal.

_How childish_, he wanted to say but kept that comment to himself. It was no use wasting his breath; _of course_ she was childish. He had known that the moment she had almost ripped his hair out of his freaking scalp during their first meeting.

A bolt of lightning stroke the earth and the next thing he knew, the Hyuuga was already under her covers, though her eyes were still visible, narrowed in a soft glare that was intense enough to probably melt the entire Arctic. Sarcasm inserted.

Sasuke almost smirked.

Almost.

"You are such a coward, Hyuuga," he declared quietly and tried to not huff in amusement at the indignation splashed all over her face that his statement brought. "But if you don't mind, I have to get dressed," he gestured down at himself and Hinata tilted her head to the side, her expression quizzical...before she _really_ looked at him and his...lack...of...dress.

With a mortified squeak, blushing cheeks, and widened eyes, she dove right into her cover for the third time, and Sasuke's lips twitched at her antics.

So it came to happen, that while Hinata buried her flaming face in pale and stolen – cough, cough, I meant to say borrowed – sheets, Sasuke took the chance to take some of some personal business while she wasn't looking, and disappeared for a few short moments in which Hinata tried to unglue the imagine of an _exposed_ Uchiha from her eyelids as best as she could.

When she heard his footsteps faintly on the wooden floors and nearing her, she tentatively peeked an eye out.

Glancing at him from bottom to top, and confirming that he was dressed with something other than his skin, she patted the space beside her invitingly, her demeanor changing drastically.

He had half the mind to shake his head and stomp away but just remembering Hiashi's Byakugan-activated face and his hand caressing the family sword of the Hyuuga while threatening him as he laid on the floor, tied and tenketsu-blocked, courtesy of some very skilled and soon-to-be-dead Hyuugas, quickly made him stay where he was.

Sasuke long-suffered sigh of resignation evaporated and he sat on the unoccupied seat, uncaring of the wrinkles he was probably marking on his abused clothes.

"Just you wait, I'm going to make you clean all this mess when that storm ends," he threatened but his voice failed to take a terse tone and the Hyuuga simply smiled at him contently.

A moment of peaceful silence interrupted only by the padding of endless rain and then, "Are those my bedsheets?"

The girl discretely looked away from him slowly, as if by being super careful, she would get out of answering his question.

"Hyuuga," Sasuke pressed and she winced apologetically as she nodded her head and hunched her shoulders.

Sasuke resisted the urge to facepalm himself, trying to keep in mind that she had the spirit of a child inside a woman's body and was therefore very sensitive to however she was treated.

So instead of glaring at her in disapproval the way he would to everyone else, Sasuke said, awkwardly, "It's okay."

And just like that, her face lit up like a lamp in a dark room...or maybe it was the flashlight illuminating her face as she offered him a bashful grin that she had probably mimicked from the Inuzuka mutt (a.k.a, Kiba).

He honestly wouldn't have been surprised if she had.

Just the way he wasn't surprised when she jumped at the sound of thunder or the fact that she started humming in an attempt to calm her shaking.

When that didn't work, she directed her gaze at Sasuke.

He instantly knew what she wanted, despite his weary state.

"I'm not signing you a song," he murmured, lids heavy with sleep.

She clasped her dainty hands as in prayer and looked at him with imploring eyes.

Sasuke's own orbs of obsidian almost waned in their firmness, but before he could lose his resolve, he looked away and huffed. "There's no way I'm singing." _Not to you, or anyone. And certainly not in a freaking closet. _How he had ended up in there was still hard to believe.

If someone were to find out, he would be the laughing stock for months without end.

Hinata pouted.

Sasuke's lips twitched as he watched her gesture from the corner of his eye, pretending to ignore her.

She frowned at his response, clearly unsatisfied.

Sasuke didn't relent an ounce of mercy until her lower lip began to tremble, her eyes began to glister with swelling tears, and she sniffed.

The lone Uchiha tensed.

Wait...she wasn't really going to...cry.

Was she?

He was really hoping she didn't.

Some being must have had some pity on him because the girl merely sighed and took the book that had been tossed away before he had come in and lifted it up for him to see.

Sasuke's eyes moved from the cover of the book with some..._things _designedon it, to her, and back again. "What," he finally inquired as she stared at him expectantly.

Hinata pushed the book right on his face, insistent.

Sasuke pushed the volume away from him, a frown gracing his brows, and opened his mouth to pronounce a negative but the expression she was giving him was really making it difficult to follow along with that plan.

Tch.

"I am not reading you a book, either," he said firmly and crossed his arms in defiance.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Forty-three minutes later, Hinata turned off her already dimmed mini flashlight, a gift from Ino-chan, and tried to fight down a yawn.

Rubbing her eyes, she blinked at the white spots dotting her vision, looked at Stranger-kun's sleeping form, and giggled.

He was sit up right, back again the thin closet wall, eyes closed and the book he had read to her a minute ago wanting to fall from his limp hand.

She caught it before it touched the wooden floor and placed it, along with her flashlight, to the side, and began to cover him with his shirts as to shield him from the cold temperature that the storm – a storm she had forgotten all about – had gifted them with.

And, as she watched him sleep, carefully cocooning herself further in the 'borrowed' bedsheets and scooting over to his relishing warmth like a child in a winter night, Hinata wondered not for the first time if she would ever be able to tell him that among his shirts, his smell resided, and that where his smell dwelt, so did a part of him that made her feel safe.

The answer was not what she wanted it to be, so resting her cheek on his lap, she closed her eyes, and tried to dream of the memories that were already gone.

**XXXX**

**.**

**Short** Preview of Chapter 6:

"_Uchiha Sasuke glared at the bag of herbs as if it was his most hated enemy in the history of his history._

_He sat on his kitchen table, scowling at the name displayed on the surface as said bag laid on the wooden furniture quite innocently. _

_Very much resembling its owner..."_

**A/N: Yes, as surprising as some things are, I'm still alive. Sorry for not updating, but life, as usual, is chaos. I had this little prompt given by Kia-B in the SasuHina tag, and I decided to post it because I had it in my DSMMR folder and to be frank, I have abandoned my readers for schoolwork and it sucks. Now, it wasn't a personal choice but it had to be done. I will be back with more soon hopefully. Please, don't think I'll stop writing. Just be patient, that's all I ask.**

**Thank you for bearing with me & I hope you liked this!**

**Also, take the minute to thank **tastetherainbow17**; without her review, this scene might have not been uploaded to quench a bit of the SasuHina thirst. **

Sasuke ended up reading her a story and fell asleep first. Haha.

5.30.14


	7. Chapter 6: Again

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Chapter 6:

Again

**.**

**.**

**.**

Uchiha Sasuke glared at the bag of herbs as if it was his most hated adversary in the history of his life.

He sat on his kitchen table, scowling at the name displayed on the surface as said plastic object laid on the wooden furniture quite innocently, pretty much mimicking its owner.

The resemblance was truly unnerving.

_Damn it._

His dark ash-colored eyes roamed the name for the hundredth time that morning, as if trying to erase the Hyuuga's written existence with their power of sight and level of intensity altogether.

That plan proved to be fruitless.

His fingers began to tap in an irritating pattern against hard wood, but he quickly put an end to the annoying noise.

He wasn't one to apply nervous habits, and he wasn't about to start now just because he didn't know how to deal with this situation.

It was a mystery why he was so bothered with this silly predicament.

The Hyuuga had forgotten her herbs and left them behind in his training grounds, so what. Surely she hadn't recalled them yet, and probably wouldn't any time soon.

But if she did...

His gaze narrowed on the bagged contents.

She would come looking for them and then the Inuzuka, Aburame, and that TenTen girl would come along for the ride. That was something he didn't want. Yes, that had to be why he was so tense.

Yesterday events of confrontation hadn't been welcomed and he wasn't feeling very fanatic about the idea of having those people meddling close to his compound. Not even Taka was allowed to come and go as they pleased without his consent, though he knew them enough to know that they wouldn't be that much of a bother.

...most of the time, he amended when the thought of a malevolently grinning Suigetsu came to mind.

Juugo, who had stolen quick glances at the Uchiha from his place on the stove for the last ten minutes, debated whether to speak as Sasuke kept his glowering gaze on the defenseless piece of plastic. That kind of behavior was starting to worry the tall man a little.

After much pondering, he finally opened his mouth. "Sasuke?"

Dark eyes switched to him, a silent 'what?' clear on the young Uchiha's face.

"Are you alright?" Juugo asked, stirring the pot of miso soup with the spoon in his right hand while sending him a wary look.

Sasuke looked away in disinterest, but grunted an inexpressive "Fine," after a moment anyway.

The ginger male didn't seem to believe him but nodded in response, turning back to the food being cooked, eyebrows knitted in doubt. Whatever it was that was affecting his leader was none of his business he knew, although he couldn't help but wonder.

"G'morning, Juugo, Sasuke-kun,"a sleepy but well-dressed Karin greeted as she entered the room, her red-hair braided elegantly with her bangs brushed to the side, purple glasses in hand. Placing them over her nose, she took a seat beside Sasuke, adjusting her chunnin vest.

Sasuke didn't give much of a response so Juugo did.

"Karin," he acknowledged kindly. "Are you having breakfast?"

She nodded, covering a yawn with the back of her arm. "Yeah. I have to work in the hospital for a few hours and then I have to pick up some herbs from the Nara clan. We have to restock several medicines," she explained as Juugo set a kindle of lemon tea and four cups on the table.

Before Juugo could reply, a loud pounding, accompanied by a sing-song "Sasukeee~", interrupted their conversation.

Sasuke's brow subtly twitched in instinct. He could recognized that voice anywhere in hell and beyond.

Without waiting for someone to open the door for him, Naruto let himself in and kept on calling for his best friend, cupping his hands over his mouth to make a louder (and unnecessary, in Sasuke's opinion) call.

"Where are you, Sasuke?!" The ungraceful opening and slamming of doors and the thuds of footsteps ascending and descending the stairs could have shook the entire house if not for its fortified wood.

The man in question could only sigh to himself at the Uzumaki's antics. His mornings were no longer meant to be spent quietly, it seemed. "Kitchen."

It was a single word and voiced in a murmur, but Naruto's ears tingled at it nonetheless. The blond's invisible SasukeRadar was receiving a strong signal. "Kitchen, you say?!" he hollered.

Sasuke remained quiet. He was not going to repeat himself.

Beside him, Karin had gone inhumanly still. Despite liking the warmth of Naruto's chakra and the sensations he sent through the atmosphere within her boundaries...

"Oi, is that breakfast I smell – Oh! Hey there, Uzumaki cousin!"

...his personality could be, at time, overbearing.

"I didn't know you guys were over," the bubbly whiskered man said, biting into a pork bun he had grabbed from the basket on the table.

Juugo frowned lightly in admonishment at Naruto's manners, Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Karin hunched her shoulders as if to make her presence as unnoticeable as possible, despite knowing whatever cover she could have gone under was hopeless; Naruto had already taken notice of her.

And as such –

"I am not your cousin," she huffed, wrinkling her nose.

"Aww," Naruto said through a mouthful of food. "Don't be like that! We're family."

"_We_ are nothing of the sort."

"Of course we are! You are an Uzumaki," he pointed at her with what remained of the bun, "and I am an Uzumaki," he gestured to himself and grinned. "See? _Family_!"

"Not," Karin dead-panned.

Naruto was unaffected by her negativity. "You even have the red hair!" he exclaimed, opening his arms high and wide, looking at the ceiling as if it were a divine thing to admire. "I've always wanted red hair," he said in secrecy, though his loud voice could hardly conceal anything.

"That doesn't prove anything," Karin was adamant, having faced this argument many times before. One of the reasons why she'd been allowed to reside in Konoha had been her ancestry, but she was not going to admit that to that blond orange being ever.

"Yeah, it does! My Kaa-chan had red hair, and Nagato-nii had red hair, and the guy who was resurrected by Orochimaru-teme had red eyes, just like yours! He said he was close to the Uzumakis, so that has to make you an Uzumaki too!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, placed his elbows on the edge of the table, and rested his chin on his interwoven fingers. "Naruto, that's the Second Hokage you are talking about, you dimwit."

"Eh? I am? Seriously?" he questioned, rubbing the back of his head and musing his short hair. Everyone, Juugo included, looked at him like the dobe he was and nodded in sync. Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"I agree with blondie over here, though," Suigetsu's voice intervened as his pointy teeth exposed into a smirk and the rest of his body made an appearance. "Karin, you definitely carry Uzumaki genes."

Naruto turned to smile at him in thanks. "Right?"

Suigetsu snorted. "Yeah, both of you are idiots. You _have_ to be related somehow."

Naruto pouted, looking hurt. "Oi, that's not nice."

"Suigetsu, you insolent fool," the red-haired woman slammed her hands on the table, making the tea and everything on it rattle dangerously as she stood. "Take that back right now!"

"Yeah!" Naruto joined the fray once again. "Take that back!"

"I am not an idiot!"

"Yeah, she's not an idiot!"

Karin jabbed a finger at the Konha ninja in his Jonin vest. "He's the only idiot besides you in here!"

"Yeah, I'm the only – _Hey_!"

"Pffft," Suigetsu cackled. "See? What did I tell you?" he said to Sasuke and Juugo as the other two broke into an argument. "Totally related!"

"How come he's not surprised to see you here, anyway?" Karin demanded, ignoring Naruto's whine consisting of "Uzumaki cousin, don't ignore me!", and settling her burning gaze on the ex-Kiri nin.

Suigetsu shrugged indifferently as he sipped from his ever-with-him water bottle. "Dunno. Don't care."

"That's because I asked Grandma Tsunade if he could come and visit once in a while," Naruto butted in. "Sasuke's friends are my friends and they're welcome here!" he informed her, smiling radiantly.

Had he been anyone else, Sasuke would have started face-palming himself ten minutes ago until his face bruised black and blue.

Was this really the conversation between a former sadistic jailor, a prodigy in the art of murder, and the future Hokage of the Leaf?

If he hadn't known any better, he would have doubt it.

Karin's personal thunderstorm cloud made an appearance above her head as she redirected her poisonous glare on her soon-to-be-dead 'cousin', her sleepy self long gone. "You. Did. _What_?"

Naruto looked confused and slightly intimidated. "Uh, wasn't I supposed to...?" he winced.

"No!" Karin all but roared. "You weren't! Now that good-for-nothing fish _thing_ –!"

"Ne, ne!" Suigetsu said happily, winking and pushing Karin away from Naruto's face while replacing her. "You did good! Ignore this bitter witch!"

Sasuke and Juugo paid them no mind as the last Uchiha continued to drill holes into the object of his current to date inward conflict and Juugo turned the stove off and set the hot pot of miso soup to cool before serving.

But then, he stopped, his eye twitching and his hands trembling as he grabbed his head.

Sasuke took instant notice and got up from his seat at a normal pace, opened the back door, and spoke. "Naruto, Karin, Suigetsu."

His call went unanswered by the three, who were busy insulting each other and coming up with the most ridiculous of names.

Sasuke was not offended. If they weren't going to listen to what he had to say, then perhaps they would be more discreet when they saw the ginger male's black marks of Senjutsu spreading like a virus all over his body.

"K-kill," he rasped longingly.

Suigetsu and Karin, used to this behavior, stiffened at once.

Naruto, a bit oblivious to Juugo's condition but sensing a dark chakra that seemed to invade the room, directed his azure gaze at the source.

"Uh, I don't know if you've noticed but..." Suigetsu began slowly.

"Juugo is transforming, Sasuke-kun," Karin completed, her red-hued eyes wide.

Naruto could only go 'eh?' as he watched.

"I know," the dark-haired man responded in that usual cool composure of his.

"He'll want to start tearing our limbs apart any minute nooow," Suigetsu warned and took a step back, ready to make a run for it if it came down to it.

"He'll what?!" That was Naruto.

Sasuke shrugged easily. "Not my problem."

"B-but!" Karin sputtered. "He's going to be out of control! You need to use your Sharingan!"

Sasuke raised his fist up and down in a mocking gesture of cheer and said flatly, "Go, Juugo, go. Go get them."

"Teme," Naruto said through a force smile. "W-whatever we did to annoy you, you aren't actually _serious_ about sending this guy after us–"

His charcoal eyes were unmerciful as he cut him off. "I'd run if I were you."

"_Kill_. Kill man. Kill woman. Kill man~," Juugo chanted eerily from behind them, grinning madly with blood-lust.

Diverse desperate eyes looked at Sasuke for salvation but Sasuke was not a benevolent individual. Not really.

He shook the hair falling over his vision, opened the exit wider, and uttered one single word:

"Run."

And that was enough to get Naruto, a novice in this show but well aware that it wasn't safe to stick around anymore, and the two integrands of Taka into doing exactly that with Juugo flashing quickly after their tails.

"Sasuke! You bastard! How can you do this to me?!"

"Sasuke-kuuuun! Stop him!"

"Ugh, I hate you all! I'm never coming back to visit any of you undeserving monsters, just you watch!"

"Kill! Kill man! Kill woman! Kill man!"

Sasuke shut the door quietly with a hand in his pocket, successfully muffling the screams coming from outside.

"It's nothing personal," he told the now empty kitchen as he picked up his cup of lemon tea and took a sip.

And truly, it wasn't; he just wanted breakfast to be a calm affair, but that was impossible with those individuals breathing his personal air.

With his house now free of them, he exhaled.

Finally. Some peace and silence (the sounds emitted from outside disregarded rather nicely).

His eyes fell on the herbs in that named plastic bag and he eyed the characters thoughtfully.

"Guess I'll have to return this before that Hyuuga and her loyal guard dogs come chasing after it," he muttered.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Hinata's hair was long for a reason, and that reason concerned honor.

In the Hyuuga clan, the longer one kept his or her hair, the more honor he or she possessed.

And Hinata had plenty of that.

Hanabi's fingers dug into her sister's scalp gently, massaging the tender skin of her head.

Hinata flinched slightly and Hanabi paused. "Am I hurting you, nee-sama?"

A hesitant nod.

"I apologize," she said sincerely as she tried to tread more carefully this time.

Hinata squeezed her younger sister's hand in reassurance and Hanabi relaxed.

Ever since she was released from the hospital's care, Hanabi thought of her older sister as someone to take lightly and protect. She was aware that the old Hinata, the one who had struggled to reach the level of power she'd pursued from an early age would not like it, would most likely be unhappy at the treatment she was being handed, but Hanabi couldn't help it.

Not when her nee-sama looked at her with those opal eyes full of wonder for everything that was unknown (to her, at least). Every detail made her gasp in surprise and ecstasy, from the pond of koi fish to her bedroom to the sunrise in the Hyuuga gardens after dawn.

In the beginning, such behavior was frowned upon by Hanabi, but then, just by keeping a stern watch over the sister that had become an enigma of pure grace and innocence that wasn't allowed to be in a shinobi's possession, _she realized_.

Realized that Hinata had never done anything like that in the years she had known her, that Hinata had never expressed herself at all, that Hinata was now, somehow and in a way she couldn't completely understand...free.

Hinata was free.

All of her burdens, all of her pains, all of her past struggles had vanished, along with her memories.

In a way, her sister had been reborn into this young woman that radiated _brightness_.

Her easy smiles, her happy eyes that were no longer empty or hidden by a blank mask, and her glowing skin, so contradictory to that of a corpse as she laid in Konoha's hospital, dormant to the world. A world that never stopped spinning, not even for Hinata.

Maybe that was why so many people loved to be near her, Hanabi thought as she massaged Hinata's head, a ritual that had become the norm to ease the blue-haired woman's morning headaches. Hokage-sama had said it'd be normal, but Hanabi didn't like having her sister hurting. Not anymore.

Hinata's renowned presence was like a breath of fresh air to everyone she surrounded herself with. Her aura was just so strong, so captivating and gentle and soft.

Hinata was wanted by everyone. People, civilian, royal, or shinobi alike, wanted to see the oldest Hyuuga, wished to spend time with her.

Hanabi's eyes darkened as she moved to dry her sister's hair.

It was a selfish desire, wanting to be around Hinata.

People tended to like nice things, _innocent things_, to aid forget the bittersweet flow of life as they moved along with it.

And that was the problem with Hinata; she was seen as that thing to help appease the demons everyone carried in their own daily lives.

Hinata, after all, knew no life. She was the perfect 'item' to use as distraction.

Unconsciously, Hanabi's teeth grounded together.

Her sister was not a _thing_; she was a person, her _sister_. Those individuals, whom she didn't even know, weren't worthy of her nee-sama. They just weren't. They wanted to use her as a get-away from hell, an easy escape route.

They wanted to bathe in her innocent atmosphere of rosy cheeks and cheeky grins.

Heh.

They were fools. No one would get past a Hyuuga, and definitely not through their all-evil-seeing white eyes. The Branch House had already held a spot for their heiress in their hearts, a place that had not dwindled since Neji's passing. The genius of the clan had protected their kind hearted Hinata-sama, and not following his actions in securing her would mean his death had been in vain. That was not allowed to happen. Ever.

Hinata had become the Hyuuga's treasure, Hanabi's personal gem, and Hiashi's precious moon.

And as such, she was to be protected from anything and everyone at all costs.

Already, several marriage proposals done by a few Feudal Lords or their sons from different lands had been revoked.

Those aristocratic idiots.

Now that the Hyuuga had her back, they weren't going to let her go again. Did they honestly think that the Hyuuga clan would hand over someone so important to them?

A probing poke to her cheek snapped her out of her heated contemplations, and pale lavender white orbs observed her with muted worry.

Hinata's face seemed to ask, 'What's wrong? Is something bothering you?' as she locked their gazes.

"It's nothing, nee-sama," Hanabi told her.

Hinata frowned lightly, unsatisfied with her answer.

The younger sister softened. "Ino-san will lecture you if she receives the news that you've been frowning," she changed the subject as she smoothed the middle of Hinata's brows. "Remember that she hates wrinkles."

Hinata beamed, remembering the blonde's facial expression of utter horror when she found a line that wasn't supposed to be there a few days before she went out on mission.

Hanabi's lips lifted in a small smile. "Now let's do your hair; you have training today."

Hinata nodded and turned to face the front once more, giving Hanabi the perfect angle to tie her hair in a high ponytail.

The raven colored hair was truly wonderful, Hanabi thought as she brushed several locks away from Hinata's face. Of the two, only Hinata had inherited their mother's unique tresses.

"Allow me," she said as she got up from the bed and went around to tie a white bandanna on her sister's forehead to successfully keep away her bangs.

Gai-sensei wasn't known for holding back during a training session and Hinata's long hair would only get in her way.

The exuberant Jonin, albeit too eccentric for Hiashi's and Hanabi's taste, was an excellent candidate for Hinata's physical therapy. He wasn't exactly a medic, but he was so knowledgeable regarding the human body and how much it could endure Tsunade-sama had giving him the go-ahead to shape Hinata back into the kunoichi she had been (much to the Beautiful Green Beast's delight).

"Done," Hanabi muttered and looked at her. "Get dressed, nee-sama. TenTen-san and Lee-san will be here shortly to pick you up."

With that, she took her leave and closed the door gently after her.

Hinata's smile disintegrated and her eyes became wary and frightened.

She didn't like to be alone, not in this house.

This house...it was haunted. It terrified her when no one was with her.

At night, after Hanabi-imoto and Papa coaxed her into sleep, she dreamed in white.

When she was awake, nothing filled her existence but the people that came and added theirs to her sick one.

The shadows casted by the morning sun looked darker and predatory when she was alone in her room and only retreated once someone entered the scene and unknowingly exhorted them out.

It was dreadful, those times in which she was all by her own, and she knew _nothing_.

Nothingness had become her existence when she woke up in that strange room, and was given a path when brown hair and red tattoos greeted her.

Hanabi believed that Hinata was light and everything that was happy; Hinata feared that without anyone she knew to keep her grounded to reality, she would lose herself into the abyss of what didn't exist.

It was a complex way to live.

She just wasn't used to _this_. To the life she was supposed to be living. It was confusing, it was cumbersome, it was sometimes too much, but she was trying.

She didn't want to go back to the tavern of nightmares and cold dead eyes. Though difficult at time, this existence was her ultimate salvation.

And...and she wanted to be saved.

Wasting no time, Hinata dressed and exited her bedroom as swiftly as she could.

Contemplating the shadows was not something she liked to do.

She walked hastily out of the house's east wing, feeling the imaginable claws of darkness within reach, and almost ran into her Papa as he closed the door to the mysterious room she wasn't allowed to enter.

When her questioning gaze had pinned her Papa, the older Hyuuga had replied with "It's not your time to know yet."

"Hinata," Hiashi said, blinking once at her attire. "Training?"

She nodded.

"Very well. Do your best, and don't push yourself. Understand?"

She nodded again.

"Good," Hiashi offered her a closed smile. "Don't keep Lee-san and TenTen-san waiting, then."

With a pat to her head, Hiashi was once again on his way.

Hinata stared after him for a moment, and then glanced at the closed door that grew in size the longer she looked at it.

"It's not your time," her Papa had said.

But he had never said, time for what?

The memory of rain and grass coiling with the aroma of sweat and spring touched her mind and long, chestnut hair and a subtle smirk welcomed her. Identical eyes watched her proudly and the way the male in white trousers and long-sleeved shirt bowed his head told her that he knew her...and that she knew him. But that couldn't be, because he was a Stranger.

"_You did good, Hinata-sama._"

And as soon as the video-clip appeared, it vanished.

"..._You did good_."

By the time Lee and TenTen found her, Hinata was still staring at her deceased cousin's bedroom door.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

Pride was a troublesome thing.

It made you do things...and then it made you _not_ do things.

It was rather strange how his emotions made him leave the village but couldn't force him to ask for directions.

The Hyuuga clan was a notorious one; it was well known. Anyone could know where they lived.

Sasuke was, in this particular case, not 'anyone'.

Therefore...it was taking him _slightly_ more time to find said site in which the Hyuuga resided.

Already, he was about to turn around and go back to his house, Hyuuga and herbs be damned, but his pride. It wasn't letting him give up so easily.

It was indeed a pathetic sight to see.

Uchiha Sasuke, lost in his own hometown.

How inglorious.

However, something informative, if not especially good, had come out of the mess Sasuke had thrown himself into.

The herbs the Hyuuga woman had been looking for were known as 'agrimony'.

And no, he hadn't asked and no one had told him. He had seen them labeled in a herb store's window. Apparently, whatever that 'agrimony' was used for was rather helpful.

Whatever its purpose, Sasuke could care less.

But it did bring a question to mind that made him grit his teeth and clench his fists.

If she had been looking for the yellow-colored buds and stem, _why in the name of hell had she gone into the woods in the first place_?

Surely she wasn't ignorant of the freaking herb store a street down the Hokage's Tower.

_Surely not_.

Then again, she didn't even know her way home.

"Wait just a moment!" an middle-aged woman cried as two kids (neither older than twelve, Sasuke supposed), ran out of the door in civilian clothing.

Immediately, the Uchiha turned a deaf ear to the scene until –

"But mama! Lady Hyuuga is training today with TenTen-sensei and Lee-sensei! We can't miss it!"

"What? But it's your day off! You're supposed to help around the house! Your missions are taking all of your time."

"I will help you later, I promise, but pleaseee! She's not out everyday! This is my chance to meet her! Fuyuki-kun already saw her, and he said she was pretty like a princess! Isn't that right, Fuyuki-kun?"

"Mhm! Please, let Akiha-chan go! 'Sides, TenTen-sensei will be there! We'll be okay."

A moment of reluctant silence and then a sigh. "Fine."

The children cried in joy and waved good bye at the woman, who could only shake her head as they went.

Sasuke subtly walked behind them.

Looked like them kids would be taking him directly to the Hyuuga herself.

Maybe luck was finally on his side.

**.. .*. ..**

**.**

It turned out that Sasuke had passed the same training grounds trice before on his way to reach Hyuuga enlightenment.

To think that the Hyuuga had been there all this time and he'd wasted his own.

He could only close his eyes and invoke patience as the kids he'd followed stopped by the brushes giving in to the clearing and four figures ahead of them.

"Ne, Fuyuki-kun, is Lady Hyuuga as nice as they say?" the girl, Akiha, asked.

"Sure she is. But she's mute," the boy replied hushly.

"Yeah, I hear that the other day from Tou-san. Do you know why?"

Fuyuki nodded somberly. "TenTen-sensei is close friends with Lady Hyuuga, and when my teammates and I asked her, she said that it happened in the war. After that she didn't say anything else," he concluded.

Akiha's face saddened. "Is it true that she doesn't remember anyone?"

"She doesn't. She lost her memories when she woke up from coma."

"Ah! Yes, I remember that. It must be scary," she said softly. "Don't you think?"

Fuyuki squeezed her tiny shoulder. "I know, but hey," he chirped. "At least they didn't disconnected her before time, eh?"

A shiver ran through Sasuke at hearing the boy say that so care-free but the girl was unaffected, and simply smiled.

"You're right," she agreed.

"Come on, then. Let's go and say hi!"

Sasuke kept to the side of the trees, watching them go silently.

The figure of the Hyuuga stopped her exercise when the kids approached, and Sasuke decided not to intervene just yet.

That idea was tossed out of the window when the Jonin in charge, a freak with a bowl-cut and...wait, that was Gai-sense, the crazy man that had interrupted his fight with Lee all those years ago.

To Sasuke's disgust, he was still wearing that green outfit and orange warmers.

And to Sasuke's utmost horror, he seemed to be offering a copy of the same exact horrible outfit to the Hyuuga while the only person with common sense, that being TenTen, was struck down to the ground by the same horror that was currently invading the Uchiha's body.

Screw not interrupting.

Sasuke was going in.

No one deserved that level of wardrobe, he knew that, but he also knew he wouldn't have done it for anyone else.

The Hyuuga, however, was so completely trusting and naïve she could've received a pair of male panda underwear and still put them on.

"Hyuuga," he called out with a hint of panic in his voice.

No one, thankfully, knew him that well as to detect it but himself, and to the rest of the shinobi present, he sounded as coolly collected as it was custom. He seemed to startle TenTen out of her aghast thoughts enough to make her turn to her sensei and start lecturing him about a kunoichi''s proper clothes, Sasuke soon forgotten to tend to a more pressing issue.

"Sasuke-san," Lee blinked in shock, and the kids who were with them gaped at the identity of the dark-haired man. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"...it's Uchiha Sasuke!" Fuyuki said in whispers to the girl at his side, whose eyes had gained a foreign shine.

Foreign to Fuyuki that is. Sasuke had seen the same light in a lot of eyes over the years, and hers were no exception. "...Oh, Kami-sama. He's so cute," she commented faintly.

Sasuke pretended not to hear them, his eyes still on the Hyuuga he'd been looking for since morning. Though, if he was being honest with himself, it had also served as an excuse to leave an untamed Juugo tearing Taka and Naruto to pieces in his backyard.

He raised a brow, expecting her to run to him, but she didn't. She was...smiling at him, and waving, beckoning him closer.

Sasuke sighed in defeat and walked in her direction until he was a few feet away.

"You forgot something," he mentioned dryly, lifting the bag of herbs for her to see.

The Hyuuga's face glowed and her mouth extended into a smile that almost knocked him off his feet due to the brightness, and that day, Sasuke learned that Hyuuga Hinata couldn't possibly be human.

Not when she smiled like that.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, and huffed in annoyance. "Just get your bag so I can get out of here," he murmured, shoving the plastic item in her arms and contradicting his order.

A yard away, Tenten was still arguing with her teacher, and the pep talk about 'flames of youth' was Sasuke's cue to leave.

He didn't have time for this silliness.

Out of pure courtesy, he said a quiet, "Ja ne," and turned to get the hell out of those training grounds.

His business here was done.

But the Hyuuga had another idea, like she always did.

So she grabbed his arm, and brushed a kiss on his cheek.

It was just an instant, and she turned away, pressing the bag of herbs to her chest and giving him her back.

Sasuke was very aware of the unbelievable looks he was receiving and the crushing silence that had replaced the earlier ruckus.

Even Gai seemed to be in a trance as the green cloth slipped through his fingers and Tenten's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of the water.

Lee's bulging eyes couldn't possibly get any wider, and the kids, more likely the boy, had covered the girl's eyes as his face screamed 'ew', and Akiha squealed a "kawaii!"

Hinata could only blink in puzzlement at everyone's reactions.

In all honesty, she didn't think it was that surprising. It was her way of saying thanks. She did the same to Kiba-kun and Shino-kun and Papa. What was wrong with presenting Stranger-kun the same courtesy?

She didn't know.

Sasuke was quick to recover this time, though, and he "Hn"-ed before turning his broad back on everyone and leaving them to pick up their jaws from the ground. When he was almost out of the clearing, he rubbed his temples, embarrassment (an unknown concept moment before,) filling his cheeks.

The young girl's words of "cute this and cute that and isn't he handsome, Lady Hyuuga?" were promptly ignored at the best of his abilities.

Screw it. He was never associating with that Hyuuga again. She was bad for his reputation.

The Hyuuga was not good for him.

And he'd never experienced such a humiliating thing in his life! True, he didn't care about what people thought, but to be kissed like that in the open and for everyone to see..

No. He had never been in such an awkward situation.

That is, until he ran into a tree in his carelessness of getting away and several gasps of horror from behind him met his ears.

He had spoken too soon.

The Hyuuga was definitely not good for his mind.

Or head.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**XXXX**

**A/N:**

I took TOO long. I have several excuses, but not one likes excuses!

?s will be answered with each update, so be patient :)

Answering this one though:

Guest:

I do really like your stories, still I feel quite uncomfortable with hinata's behavior, I know loss of memory etc. But has she to be so childish, I mean, "sing me a song", "read me a story" and things like that...Actually, if you make her suck her thumb or cry for a sweet in that story that won't shock me haha (Ewww please don't do it).  
>I would be disappointed if Sasuke falls for that side of hinata, It would make him a sick perverted brat :(<p>

I'll say this: Don't worry! I have a plan set in mind, and in my opinion, for romance to bloom, a friendship must be established first. The last update was a prompt and won't be affecting the story overall. So all's good. Sasuke's not a pervert in any way o_o And i won't make him as such in this story.

-The Hyuuga clan will have its time, and so will Suigetsu. Apparently, you guys love him and his interaction with Hinata. Which i admit it's pretty fun to write :D

Thank you for all the lovely reviews! 176 within 5 chapters and a side-prompt? That's amazing (to me, anyway). Can we reach 200? o_o

Please do review again. You guys fill my heart.

-8.19.14


	8. Chapter 7: Unexpected

**A/N: It's been a while and I'm happy to return. This chapter was beta'ed by Yudoku****-Kabe-no-Hana** **& Juri. DP**** whom are total sweethearts. Please do thank them for putting their time in making this chapter better. Thank you, Anjel and Juri! I don't know what I would do without you. Actually, I do, but the idea makes me cringe; I can practically see myself in total pandemonium.**

.

_Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Chapter 7:

Unexpected

**.**

**.**

**.**

Hyuuga Hinata was brave.

Or, at the very least, she wished to believe so whenever her world came crashing down and her heart drowned inside the ocean depths of despair.

Sometimes it really suffocated her, this silence she built around herself without meaning to.

It stuck to her like a hot, sticky substance that never left her alone. It was a silence that said nothing but was, despite common logic, too loud for her ears to handle.

It spoke to her, this oppressive silence. It spoke without a sound, voicing questions she'd rather not answer.

_Who are you?_ It questioned.

_What are you doing?_ It inquired.

_What is your purpose?_ It demanded.

It was depressing to open her mouth and answer with a mute breath:

_I do not know._

_You don't even know who you are_, the silence scoffed.

_You know not what you are doing_, it continued to criticize.

_You serve no purpose; how useless_, it snapped.

The silence that had become her main feature before the eyes of many seemed to enjoy tormenting her.

This series of events would often lead Hinata to stare at the mirror stationed on top of her vanity table for long hours, trying to study the reflection watching her as well, searching for a sliver of who she once was.

But the mirror, Hinata had quickly learned, was cruel and mocking – always presenting her with the same, unchanging and undesirable results:

A scrutinizing set of pale, heavy-lidded lavender eyes.

Eyes that were too wide to be taken seriously, toovulnerable-looking to claim respect from her peers.

Dark blue hair a shade shy of black.

Long.

Thick.

Needle-straight.

It flowed like the vein of a dark river down her back and past her hips, supplying her with a curtain to hide behind.

A white, milky face that was once round and childish, immature and marshmallow-like, had now sharpened with the loss of lingering baby-fat. Although more defined, her face had remained soft and kind, her expression gentle.

This was Hyuuga Hinata.

And yet, simultaneously...

The young woman staring at her through the mirror was a mere stranger dressed in a kimono and blessed with a pretty face.

The 'Hinata' image she had gathered from the stack of pictures Hanabi-imoto and TenTen-chan had given her also failed to provide the expected help.

The 'Hinata' image in those pictures was foreign to her, even if everyone else pointed with knowing fingers at the petite brunette that was to be her.

"This is you," TenTen announced with detectable pride.

"This is you right here!" Kiba often declared, snorting at the memories of a time now past. "Look here, look!"

"This," Shino murmured with subtle fondness, taking her own hand and guiding her to the destined spot, "is Hinata."

They all said it with so much conviction that it was hard not to believe in their words, even if she herself just couldn't feel, see, or remember what they, without a doubt, could.

TenTen, Kiba, and Shino...they were well informed about everything there was to know about Hyuuga Hinata; the same way Kurenai, Hiashi, Hanabi, Ko, and the rest of the universe seemed to be.

The only one who remained oblivious to her own previous existence was she.

She had then realized her lack of knowledge was the only thing that could match the degree of fear and trepidation the silence and the shadows that lurked in her bedroom ensued.

The realization hit her with so much force that tears of frustration, confusion, and pain had spilled down her cheeks.

As if pantomiming her mood, the skies of Konoha had turned gray and tormenting, large clouds heavy with unshed rain.

Although depressing in its nature and accompanied by the dark season, the rain gave her the comfort no one in the House of the Hyuuga could.

The wintery showers of December also gifted her with the excuse of staying home, where the arms of darkness and vague shadows embraced her in their own way, burying her under the pieces of her shattered mind.

Hinata welcomed those unholy things for once, for they kept her from venturing into the outside world where nothing differentiated from up and down.

The outside was confusing. So confusing.

Papa, once he determined the reason for her distress, had taken it upon himself to assure her that she was courageous and that, for the time being, it was enough.

"Be patient," he advised days later as he observed her with kind white eyes. He sat on her room's carpet, a low table with documents in front of him, a cup of tea in his tanned hands.

It had become the norm to stay with her whenever she was in the house; and those days in which Hinata looked at little else but her reflection in wary contemplation, Hiashi made sure to sit with her, not wanting to leave her alone in case she recalled something from the ruins of her memory.

Hinata turned to glance at him slowly from her place at her lavender vanity table.

Hiashi returned her gaze calmly. "Why don't you come here and have tea with me, daughter?" he suggested.

The young woman paused for a moment, but ultimately made her way to sit at the opposite side of the wooden table, folding the skirt of her violet kimono in a graceful motion.

"I know what's running through your mind, Hinata." His sigh resonated in the room. "However, don't let your fear rule your days, understand? Eventually, you will come to relive the memories that are hidden, and your fear will cease, as well as your insecurity."

Hinata's head had retained its bowed position asan older and tougher palm had settled on top of her crown in comfort.

"Just be brave. Be brave for yourself, be brave for the things that will surely come in the future and be brave for the things that have already come to pass."

She'd assumed her aqueducts were dry, but when her Papa's voice registered, her glassy eyes flashed with salty water.

...then Kiba-kun had chosen that exact moment to appear out of the blue, (or, to be precise, from the open window facing the gardens,) briskly but politely added his two cents to a conversation he'd never followed to begin with, grabbed Hinata's petite and surprised form to toss onto his very broad shoulders, saluted Papa Hiashi good-bye and good riddance, and lastly but not least, made a break for a blessed escape before Ko and Hyuuga-Stoic-Hiashi himself thought of chasing after him, Byakugan activated and all.

Sadly for Kiba, Hyuugas were very good at tracking.

To say that Papa Hyuuga was unhappy at having a wild Inuzuka rob his daughter from under his nose for whatever reason had been an understatement.

To say that Silly Kiba-kun had learned to ask permission first and not beg for forgiveness later when concerning the Hyuuga House had been a scary experience.

"That's why I think you're fearless, 'Nata," he'd said after the dramatic and traumatizing scene was over while licking his recently bought strawberry-flavored ice cream in training grounds eight (the sole reason why he'd tried to recruit – not kidnap – her in the first place).

Hinata had sat between him and Shino with Akamaru's head on her lap, her hands busy with his white pelt as Shino patiently fed her chocolate and vanilla goodness, sun-basking and enjoying the scarce warmth of the sun.

"You live in that haunted Hyuuga compound thing and I just don't know how you manage with all of your daddy's look alikes," Kiba continued, his speech somehow stiff as he spoke through the plastic spoon inserted in his mouth. In his opinion, one Hiashi was more than sufficient. He didn't need Ko and Natsu, both of which were caretakers of the Hyuuga princesses, to lecture his ear off.

His sense of hearing was sensitive enough as it was, dammit.

Hinata had sent him a puzzled look and Shino volunteered to explain as Kiba devoured his cold treat with gusto.

"What Kiba means," he started and made a motion for her to open her mouth for a spoonful of savory cream, an action to which Hinata had promptly acted upon, "is that you are very brave to live the way you do. Why? Because he's a cowardly canine– no offense, Akamaru – compared to your naïve propensity of always venturing and living with threatening-looking beings - that being your own aristocratic family."

Kiba choked on his food with both indignation and laughter at Shino's wording.

Hinata had blinked innocently before smiling brightly and nodding happily, her own way of showing she understood.

Though she didn't.

Well, not completely.

Kiba's mouth had formed a smirk and he'd placed his powerful arms over her small shoulders. "You are brave, yes you are," he cooed at her adorableness, causing her to 'eep!'

Seeing her like that, he'd chance having Papa Hiashi chase his butt if it meant he could have Hinata for the afternoon.

Meanwhile, recognizing a chance when he saw it (and taking it), Akamaru had taken advantage and swallowed his master's ice cream, sending Kiba into a fuss with Hinata leaving them to their argument and silently demanding for more dessert.

Shino had dutifully complied, and another blissful afternoon in company of Team 8 had swiftly transpired and come to an end when the sun disappeared behind the hills on the far west.

. .*. ..

.

After the conclusion of that day, Hinata's uneasiness had settled down in a cloud of vapor, not too heavy and not too cumbersome.

With her mind finally allowed to wander and shift freely through other topics of emphasis, the face of a certain Stranger began to flash through her eyes for an odd reason and lingered there for hours in the night.

Now that she thought about it, Hinata had seen little of Stranger-san, or, as Kiba was so inclined to call him, 'that Uchiha bastard'.

After searching for him in the streets and encountering no trace of his unique self roaming around, Hinata's mind had centered on the Uchiha compound where he'd taken her the other day. If he was nowhere to be found, then this was her lone alternative in encountering him.

She wondered how he was doing. Was he alright? Was Sharp-Teeth-sensei practicing with his sword? Was Fire keeping her hair pretty? What about Big Man? Was he doing alright with his perched birds and squirrels?

She hoped they were okay and that their lack of presence didn't have anything to do with Stranger-san's latest apparition and humiliation.

She wasn't sure why, exactly, but she found those individuals' company fascinating, if refreshing.

Maybe because they barely knew her.

By the way they had acted in their first meeting, it had been obvious they had never interacted with _that_ Hinata.

The sheer fact made her heart soar and want to have them around.

Sometimes, having everyone surrounding her knowing every single detail about her likes and dislikes was overbearing. It was as if they knew her better than she knew herself.

Under her circumstances, she wasn't surprised.

But Stranger-san and Co. weren't like that, and that made her chest feel lighter and her lips curl into a large smile.

It made her happy that they didn't know her and thus, could get along with no background history following them everywhere.

Besides missing their amusing antics, Hinata's 'birthday' was coming up next week...and there was going to be a celebration of sorts.

Although new to it and a bit clueless, she did know people were going to be invited to the Hyuuga house and partake in merrymaking...so, why not...you know, Stranger-san as well?

Hence, her brain was put into action and a _diminutive_ amount of bravery was a must to have when envisioning a plan she herself wasn't too confident in accomplishing.

But since three of the men in her life didn't tell lies and had confidence in her, Hinata liked to assume that she'd eventually get through her plan without much difficulty if she did her best.

She trusted Papa's, Shino-kun's, and Kiba-kun's judgment too much, and if they said she was brave, then she had to be.

Besides, she wanted to believe that she was courageous and that their trust in her wasn't misplaced.

...and that belief and desire to prove, as it was custom, was what had brought her to this crucial point in her life in which uncertainty ruled.

Hinata squared her tiny shoulders, flickered her high ponytail of indigo blue behind her, and nodded to herself in accretion and silent encouragement.

Yes, she flexed her slender fingers beneath her gloves, fists forming.

She could do this.

She was strong, wasn't she? And daring. Don't forget about the daring part, she nodded curtly to herself again, her lips pursed.

"Ne, Hinata-san...?"

Yes, she was brave and there was nothing that could stop her from doing what she had so stubbornly set off to do that very morning.

She had faced training with Master Funny-Brows – , er, Gai-sensei, – therefore, it was only logical to think she could effectuate something as simple as to 'talk' to Uchiha Sasuke, codename: Stranger-san, and apologize (in her own way, of course) for certain pride-wounding events.

Speaking of which, just by remembering, Hinata grimaced.

Pressing a mysterious piece of paper close to her chest, she continued to slowly make her way towards the Uchiha District with the assistance of Shino-kun, hoping Stranger-san wasn't too upset about what had transpired in Team Gai's training grounds a week ago, to receive her.

Surely he didn't blame her, did he? The possibility made her gut clench uncomfortably.

"Are you listening, Hinata-san? Oi, Hinata-san?"

Hinata genuinely liked having him around. He seemed nice, even if his face did fold into weird expressions that belonged to someone who had accidentally consumed something very sour from time to time.

But that wasn't too important.

What mattered was whether or not Stranger-san was going to accept her letter of sincere apology...and maybe attend the celebration planned with everyone else?

She bit her lip in slight frustration at the prospect of his rejection. If he didn't accept, then what? Had she learned how to write only to have her hard work thrown onto her face?

That just wouldn't do.

And anyway...she didn't plant that big tree in front of Stranger-san for him to run into, so it wasn't directly her fault.

But she _did_ feel accountable nonetheless.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat and a sigh escaped her pouting lips in a puff of white air.

Was it normal or was it odd to feel like this?

The guilt in her heart was too heavy and was making it hard to breathe.

So much for feeling light-hearted in his presence.

She wasn't liking this new negative change one bit.

The waving hand in front of her face attached to one of the dark-haired men accompanying her in her vital quest made her blink and exit her daze.

She inclined her head slightly to the side in a 'huh?' motion that alerted Lee he had the attention he'd been trying to get for a while now.

"You look very thoughtful, Hinata-san. Is there something bothering you?" he asked, eying her enquiringly with big dark eyes.

She wrinkled her tiny nose and huffed lightly, dejected.

This response made Lee nod in deep understatement. "Oooh. I see."

And he did. He had spent so much time around her that her mute replies had become a common occurrence in Lee's daily life. And, to the surprise of many, Lee had grown more accustomed to Hinata's forms of expression than Kurenai and Hiashi themselves.

It was quite the accomplishment, an accomplishment Gai-sensei took great delight in and tended to boast about to anyone who was willing – or not so willing – to listen.

"You are worried about what Sasuke-san will tell you, aren't you?"

Another pout and the furrowing of brows was his response.

Lee rubbed his chin with his thumb in contemplation and crossed his muscular but lean arms over his chest to bring heat to his body.

December and winter had finally made their presence known. The atmosphere wasn't too cold, but neither was it warm nor mild anymore. Autumn had come and gone, and winter's time to exert its rule upon Konoha had arrived.

"Don't worry, Hinata-san." The green-dressed young shinobi gave her a good-naturally wink. "I'm sure Sasuke-san will be very youthful about this."

As Hinata turned to look at him with relief brimming in her lavender eyes, Shino, – on the opposite side of Lee where Hinata couldn't see him – shot him a reproachful frown, silently chiding him for getting her hopes up.

Understanding the meaning behind the cryptic glasses, Lee quickly attempted to retract his words. "And if he isn't, uh, well," he laughed nervously. "I'm sure he'll..."

He trailed off uncertainly.

Hinata looked on expectantly.

"Um," he tried again, wavering under her innocent gaze. "Well, I bet Sasuke-san will...I bet he's going to be..."

"Tyrannical," a jaded voice suddenly said behind them.

Lee made at face. "Not the word I'm looking for," he mumbled, tapping his jaw with gauzed fingers in thought this time.

"Inconsiderate. Impatient."

He shook his head, inky dark bangs brushing his forehead. "No, that's not it..."

"Rude. Harsh. Unkind. Bitter. Sadistic. Cruel."

A pause.

"A complete ungrateful bastard. Take your pick."

Lee looked more and more appalled with each suggestion presented. "That is far too brutal and un-youthful to describe someone. It can't be possible! Surely Sasuke-san isn't like that!"

Had Lee not been busy feeling scandalized, he would have taken noticed of the droll stare directed at him. "If you want to keep believing that, hey, whatever. Ignorance is bliss, eh? But take it from someone who has actually lived with him." Suigetsu shook his head, imagining Sasuke acting like an incorrigible human being.

Inside the Uchiha residence, a quiet sneeze resounded.

Sasuke blinked and frowned lightly before shrugging away the distant feeling that someone was talking about him.

"Hn," he murmured monotonously and went back to reading the scroll at hand.

A little more than a mile away, Suigetsu proceeded with his informative Sasuke-related report. "The guy is a complete block of ice, not to add a jerk. Just the other day, he set Juugo on the hunt for Karin, that blond guy with whiskers, and me. I'm telling ya; the guy has no mercy, jeez."

"But – " Lee was about to protest and, most likely, conjure something positive to say about the absent Uchiha to protect his name's sake, only for the taijutsu-specialist to finally realize there was something very off going on here.

He swirled around to catch sign of the intruder Hinata and Shino had been observing for a while and had to suppress the urge to gasp at the presence of a young man in his early twenties following casually behind them with his arms behind his head.

The gigantic sword strapped to his back did little to subdue Lee's alarm.

"Why would you want to visit him, anyway?" continued Suigetsu as he reached for the faithful container of water at his hip. "I wouldn't be doing that if I were you; he's been in a bad mood ever since the last time he went to town." He shrugged carelessly and gulped his drink down. "Whatever pissed him off must have seriously hit a nerve; the guy hasn't left his house since then and refuses to acknowledge anyone's existence." He tsked his tongue against his sharp teeth in aggravation and motioned with his water bottle to emphasize his words. "Childish and rude, I'm telling you. There's no other way to put it."

"Is that so?" Shino mused, glancing at Hinata from his peripheral vision.

The girl seemed to have shrank in size at Suigetsu's news.

The Aburame pressed his lips in a subtle line of displeasure before stopping and bringing the young Hyuuga to a halt beside him. "Maybe he's right, Hinata. We should visit at a more appropriate time another day."

Hinata's frame slouched ever so ungracefully in defeat.

She recognized that Shino-kun had a valid point. Besides, this entire plan had been rocky to start with, and now that she was aware of Sasuke's recent development since the incident at Team Gai's training grounds, the idea of him receiving her was unimaginable.

As soon as it had come, her bravery deserted her.

Catching on to the exchange, Suigetsu placed his full attention on the indigo-haired woman. "What? Did you have any serious business to deal with him, Girly?"

Hinata made a feeble so-so gesture with her hand.

"Oh?" Suigetsu's grin was positively evil. "Is that sooo?"

Hinata nodded, not understanding what part of her answer he didn't understand.

It was Suigetsu's turn to tap his chin in genuine thoughtfulness, the gears in his head turning as he schemed. "How about this, Girly..."

And so, back at the Uchiha Compound, Sasuke unexpectedly felt a chill run down his spine.

He idly wondered if he was getting sick with some kind of inconvenient cold.

He grunted, dismissing the ridiculous idea. As if.

Outside, the skies broke apart with rain.

.. .*. ..

.

Concurring with his previous belief, he was definitely not getting sick.

However, he was starting to wish otherwise, perhaps then he would have had the validity of contaminating germs as his excuse to make himself scarce.

That would've been better than this strange reality.

There existed times in which Sasuke wished to doubt his sanity and exceptional eye-sight. Or, at the very least, be able to turn tail and slam his house's door (thus, successfully shutting reality out) without causing the object of his current frustration to look at him with those cursed innocent eyes of hers.

Now was one of those times...and he was on the edge of diving in for the latter of his options, fingers inching for the doorknob, when Hyuuga Hinata suddenly looked up from the object of her current infatuation, and beamed in his direction.

Twitch.

No way.

Double twitch.

The hand hovering over the door's manacle twitched one last time before reluctantly giving in and curling into a limp fist by his side.

This had to be a joke.

He sighed inwardly, eying the offered item in the Hyuuga's little hands with a bit of dismay before glancing up at her face that was too bright for his taste, the puddle of water taking form at her bare feet blatantly ignored.

He stood with his back to the entrance of his residence, body rigid, features strained as he tried to keep his emotions from showing, sentiments, may it be added, that was shared by no one in his presence as of yet.

The three males beside the Hyuuga, however, did carry something in common, and it wasn't the mud-stained and water-drenched attires on their person.

No, it was, more precisely, the hints of challenge.

Aburame Shino's dark glasses gave off an evil glint in the afternoon's light, as if daring the stoic Uchiha to throw his petite and disheveled teammate & Co. out of the Uchiha District, the being she held in her cupped palms begone.

Sasuke could feel the muted threat hidden beneath the piles of wet clothes the bug-controlling shinobi wore.

It was very subtle, but it was there, as if trying to warn him a bit beforehand. As if telling him to choose his future actions wisely.

Maybe Sasuke would've taken him and the rest of the ninja present a bit seriously had they not looked as someone who had just swam through a swamp and bathed in mud.

By the way everyone but him was fairing, Sasuke was beginning to think that was exactly what they had transpired.

For whatever unfathomable reason.

Lee's challenge, for its part, was not one of desiring conflict like the Aburame's, but of embracing nature, and that particular factor was what made it, in Sasuke's mind, ridiculously dreadful.

It would be a cold day in hell before Uchiha "IceCube" Sasuke 'embraced the flames of youth' that the green ninja and his crazy sensei continued to energetically proclaim even to this date.

It wasn't those two individuals, however, who made Sasuke debate over the idea of kicking them all off Uchiha territory like he had originally plotted in his mind.

Had it been only Lee and Shino, Sasuke would've sent them on their merry way home through the aid of very diabolical means.

As for the Hyuuga...well, he was certain Juugo would welcome the assignment of walking her to the Hyuuga residence if Sasuke ordered him to and if her escorts founded themselves let's say, _indisposed_ (or killed) by very questionable and mysterious methods of torture.

The orange-haired man had the tendency of walking around town as it was, so Sasuke could get rid of two birds with one stone if he did stumbled upon the extinction of her killed – er, unavailable, – friends and send her away.

The face she was giving him and the fact that it was cold and she was dripping wet made him stop for a moment to reconsider that clever and brilliant strategy, however.

Well, at least a very, very, _very_ small part of him – he could admittedly say – was being considerate about the indigo-haired woman's well-being.

But if Sasuke was going to be truthful, the reason why he hadn't kicked them out was mainly because of Suigetsu.

The bastard.

It was as if he'd heard Sasuke's vicious train of thought, for the ex-Kiri agent's lips widened into a pointy smile, mischievousness and blueprints on how to make the life of his former leader difficult reflecting in violet-colored eyes.

It honestly wouldn't have surprised him if Suigetsu had played some cards of his own accord and conjured the inconvenient spectacle Sasuke had before him.

Yes. Sasuke wouldn't have put it pass him.

Suigetsu was exceptionally cunning when he wanted to be, Sasuke would give him that.

And now that the white-haired kenjutsu specialist was looking at him with an expression that read 'what are you going to do now, eh, Sasuke?', the Uchiha nonchalantly responded with a swift but poisonous glare that spelled very dire consequences to come.

Suigetsu was trying to make Sasuke react in some exasperated way and toy with him. The white-haired murderer was playing a game, a very dangerous game, but one he seemed to enjoy nonetheless.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for Sasuke.

Finally, after long moments of silence in which Hinata wasn't particularly interested in him, but rather, on the creature crawling up her shoulder with tiny claws that made her squeal in mute delight, Sasuke spoke.

"What...is the meaning of this?"

Since Hinata could only spare him a look before giggling when the green amphibian moved up her neck, Shino stepped up to explain, but was instantly beat to the punch by Lee.

The exuberant ninja contrasted Sasuke's mood flawlessly as he smiled, his unnaturally white teeth catching some kind of non-present light, almost blinding the Uchiha with said act.

"Sasuke-san," he began politely, although obviously eager. "Good afternoon! How are you? We've been well and we hope the same for you, too! Shino-kun and I are have come to escort Hinata-san and aid her in her mission of utmost importance! Please, do pay attention to what she has to say – I mean, well, she has a message she wishes to give and we –"

That was the moment Sasuke tuned him out.

Instead, his eyes caught the way the Hyuuga squirmed under the steps of the small, insignificant turtle she had gotten from whatever forsaken place in this world.

A turtle.

A freaking turtle.

Just where the hell did this girl managed to get something as random as that green animal from?

Where? And in this season?

A freaking _turtle_.

Effing fantastic.

Sasuke was having a hard time believing what was happening. Had he not been witnessing the odd ordeal himself, he would have never pictured it as vividly as the real deal.

Seeing that he was looking at her, Hinata batted her lashes in curiosity and stared back for a second before waving shyly, her lips forming the word, 'Hello!'

She smiled.

He frowned (albeit in puzzlement).

Why was she so happy about seeing him? What was her business with him? Had she come to revive his suppressed memories of Team Gai's training grounds and stupid trees?

He sure as hell hoped not.

As if going along with his thoughts, Hinata's mouth formed an 'o' and a light-bulb went off above her head.

Placing the still moving turtle in one hand, she reached into the right pocket of her coat and extracted a formal white envelope

A white, very formal, very expensive-looking and, most importantly, very wet, envelope.

Lee and Shino suddenly stiffened at the sight.

Suigetsu 'huh?'-ed and watched the presented, thin object in puzzlement.

Hinata's smile was eradicated...and ironically enough, a snort of laughter almost escaped Sasuke at seeing her shocked expression.

Obviously, despite the rain she and her guardian dogs had gone through earlier, the fact that paper wasn't waterproof had never bothered to cross her mind.

Her surprise gave way to offense and she eyed the soaked envelope accusingly as if to say, 'I trusted you!'

She looked so betrayed it was difficult for Sasuke to contain his misplaced amusement.

Almost immediately, though, her feeling of betrayal moved towards dismay and her gaze traveled to Sasuke's, then back to the envelope, then back to Sasuke once more.

Her unhappiness was picked up by everyone present, but it was Suigetsu who stirred the conversation before the rest could (Lee was too shocked himself to do anything and Shino too inverted in thinking how to respond with appropriate words in this situation).

"Aw, Girly, don't look like that," he said, wincing a little at the sight she created.

For once in his lifetime, Sasuke had to agree with Suigetsu – mentally.

The girl did look rather pathetic standing there all wet in a puddle of water and with a ruined letter. Her expression did nothing to brighten her appearance or the gloomy cloud brewing over her head.

"Oh, Hinata-san," Lee said quietly in sympathy. She had come all of this way to hand Sasuke-san her letter and now that youthful plan was foiled.

Suigetsu blew a breath noisily and crossed his hands over his chest. "Well, this sure blows."

Finally, Sasuke spoke. "You never told me what they are doing here. Nor why you are caked in mud," he added with slight contempt.

Suigetu turned to him, big violet eyes unafraid at the menacing tone. "I encountered these guys on my way to see you, as a matter of fact. Apparently, Girly came all the way out here to your haunted terrain because you haven't been to town. So she decided to visit and give you some kind of message while she was at it." His eyes flickered to the envelope. "But I guess that isn't gonna happen. Oh, and the weirdos over there are acting as bodyguards, I guess."

Shino shot him a filthy look as Hinata sighed in disappointment and hung her head. How could she been as careless as to let this happen?

Without thinking about it, she smacked her forehead with the back of her hand, successfully crushing what remained of the envelope in the process.

Realizing what she had done, she almost fainted.

"And is there a particular reason why you are trailing mud into my residence?"

The threat was not at all subdued in Sasuke's voice.

Suigetsu either failed to hear it or simply could have care less. "Well," he smirked. "We were trying to catch the little guy over here." Insert turtle here. "Capturing it took a while. You'd be surprised at how unnaturally fast that green thing was!" He laughed. "People say a turtle is slow, but that has to be a lie. It was hell trying to attain it. But Girly was really smart about the whole thing, and she managed to take a hold of it when we men couldn't. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself." _I mean, this was him he was talking about too. Him, unable to catch a turtle? Beaten by a girl?_

"That is because she was a tracker kunoichi," Shino elaborated helpfully.

Suigetsu's disbelief was tangible. "What?! Are you for real? That tiny woman was a tracker?"

"I am 'for real'. Besides, Hinata is not 'tiny'. She possesses an average height."

Suigetsu centered on the unsuspecting brunette. "She looks very tiny to me," he murmured, using Lee and Shino, two of the tallest members of the Konoha 12, as the objects of contrast.

"Isn't there any other way to rely this message?" Sasuke asked dryly, snapping the topic back to where it was before it was laid astray.

He addressed Shino but kept his attention on the Hyuuga woman who was slowly but surely smacking herself experimentally and repeatedly in her irritation with herself

Pleased with whatever masochist result she was gaining from hitting herself, she continued.

_Smack_.

"I'm afraid not. Hinata refused to show us what her letter said," the Aburame replied stoically.

Sasuke raised a brow. "Does she even know how to write?"

"She didn't remember how, but she learned in a week," Lee informed proudly.

_Smack_.

Shino's glasses reflected some unknown light as he set his sight on Sasuke. "Don't underestimate her. She was very adamant to relearn and remember, and I believe the cause for such rush was you," he added, not liking the fact but unable to hide it. "Therefore I ask you to please be considerate with the effort she applied."

He might have said something else after that, but Sasuke wasn't listening.

His focus was on the short person sporting a red print on her forehead.

_Smack_.

Hinata didn't see the hand coming until masculine fingers coiled around her wrist, stopping her from landing another (however soft) hit.

Startled, she followed the limb and found herself face to face with a subtly irked Sasuke.

"Hinata, was it?"

She nodded, eying the frown between his eyebrows thoughtfully. A part of her itched to smudge his scowl from his features, thinking that it was twenty years too early for him to be in danger of wrinkles. (She had obviously been hanging out with Ino way too much.)

"Fine," Sasuke acknowledged her name. "Hinata, stop that; it's distracting."

Contrary to his expectations, the girl, Hinata, instead of nodding meekly as he had anticipated and doing as she'd been told, only blinked once at his order – and scowled.

Sasuke was so taken aback he blinked right back, dumbfounded, his eyes widening a fraction of a centimeter.

Hinata apparently didn't like to be ordered around, much less in her state.

She was wet, she was cold, she was hungry, and her message had failed to be delivered after much struggle.

Sasuke's tone of voice wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine, either.

Not to be outdone by a midget such as herself, Sasuke narrowed his piercing obsidian eyes in silent challenge.

Hinata was dauntless as she corresponded, her neck stretched to the maximum as to not let his tall frame work against her. When this failed to impress the Uchiha, she raised on her tip-toes.

The ignored audience watching the scene had to suppress gleeful laughter at the childishness (Suigetsu), the flames of youth at such a passionate display of rivalry lest he ruined it (Lee), and the protective urge to steal Hinata back through ninja insects (Shino).

White orbs that reminded him of December snow in the dim light clashed against his, defying him. Had he not been pissed off at Suigetsu, Saske might have found the situation somewhat comical.

Even her scowl seemed like a pronounced displeased pout, and with her slitted eyes that clearly said, 'I'm not backing down from you,' the picture she gave him was laughable in its own right.

Without permission, the corner of his lips began to lift almost perceptively.

"...so they can stay here until the rain lets up, right, Sasuke?" Suigetsu smiled brightly as he talked about something Sasuke had not been privy to.

Taking his inquiring silence as confirmation, Suigetsu ran past him and called, "Alright! Come in, Girly! Let's get you cleaned-up. Sasuke has lots of room in his house!"

With an eerily good accuracy of the concept of timing, lightning struck the ground, a loud boom of thunder erupting shortly behind, echoing Sasuke's inner feelings regarding the kiri ninja's suggestion.

...the hell had he missed during his stare down with Hinata?

The Uchiha wasn't sure, but he knew very well he could have murdered Suigetsu violently right then and there for opening that impertinent mouth of his.

"I don't believe that's a good idea –" Shino began, only to be cut off by Lee who obviously didn't know when to keep his comments and insane ideas to himself.

"Oh, thank you very much, Uchiha-san! We would be grateful for your hospitality."

.. .*. ..

And that was how Uchiha "IceCube" Sasuke found himself sitting in his kitchen with Hyuuga Hinata for the second time in his life.

.

_**Deleted Scene**_

What Was Going to Happen Had Sasuke Sent Hinata & Co On Their Way.

**. .*. ..**

**.**

"Suigetsu."

A rather interesting (and desperate) colorful vocabulary ran through Suigetsu's mind as the Girly and her funny friends disappeared into the far distance.

"Get ready to spar," was the cold-given order.

Suigetsu smiled forcibly. "Ah, Sasuke, you know, I'm very tired." He made a show of stretching and yawning that was not at all exactly convincing. "After everything that happened today with Girly-chan and those two weirdoes, maybe we should all just call it a day and relax–"

"Suigetsu."

The white-haired male cringed to himself. Just by pronouncing his name, it was more than obvious Sasuke was royally _pissed_.

"Weeeell, it was fun while it lasted, anyway," Suigetsu murmured sourly, a pout in his lips.

Whatever.

He could always get even with Sasuke later, if, you know, said Uchiha didn't proceed beyond the unofficial sparring rules that spoke about not killing one's opponent.

_Besides_, he thought contently to himself as he prepared to meet a momentary but painful death in the form of a very angry (however impassive he appeared) Uchiha.

_I'm sure Girly-chan will be willing to help next time._

If there was a next time that is. By the murderous glint in the Uchiha's eyes, Suigetsu was starting to think he wouldn't make it out of the backyard in one piece.

**. .*. ..**

**.**

A/N: Suigetsu is love. Enough said.

It's been a long while. I'M **SO** SORRY.

Thank you:** Uzumaki-sama, aryaputra, Sani K. Halleng, , anne, Zeelee-Vallen, JokerAtWork, kandita, Guest, magi, TangoLimaCharlie, Melanieciel, In Memory Of Yesterday, VampyNgo, Lems, RiceballXLover, Sadie321, MsLCloud, DivineGlory, Hatepinkz, korudo, Akumakisses, flornoir, Break Blade, YukiTenVianey Team, DageRee, 392259, xXYour DoomXx, HiddenAsirations, umnia, Love-MM, Sabie0521, Lisa Jones, 1, farahb, wolf-enzeru, Yudoku-Kabe-no-Hana, iivogelchen, miema04, Kibachow, Shisenki, misao07, Robotchik1, PuppetPrince, Guest, Kia-B, and TheMaidlinEffect **for the enthusiasm.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story & that I've made you smile and roar with laughter. It was a pleasure to do that. However, I'm not getting paid to write this; I do it out of my own free will and time (something that no longer applies to me), so be considerate of me as you would be of yourselves if you were writing this. I am a human being, after all. The next part (which was actually what I was looking forward) was going to be in this chapter, but the chapter got so long I had to split it up. Therefore, await an update next week. After said update, _Nightmares_ and _Shadows_ will make an apparition. Though _Free Ravens _is on its way too.

P.S: **Soupy996** made fan art for Chapter 4 and it's _ADORABLE_. Have a look here: soupy996. tumblr image/ 116790889543

-4.27.15


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